Your Secret, Is Mine
by ScreamChosen
Summary: Buffy and Anne are having a night in, watching a movie. The events that happen afterwards takes a distressed slayer to L.A, to find her long lost lover. But not everything goes as planned, or is what it seems. Will everything bring them together again?
1. Secrets

The five year old covered her eyes in fear, crying silently.

The bad man was hurting mommy again, and daddy wasn't there to save her.

Peaking through her separated fingers, she watched as the bad man, who was none other then Riley, kicked and punched Buffy, in the middle of the living room. Anne was sobbing, curled up on the couch; her legs underneath her chin, trying to hide herself. She didn't want to leave her mother alone, not with him. Willow, Dawn, Joyce and Tara were out shopping; Buffy and Anne were going to have the night all to themselves. That was, until Riley came over.

It was their night together; Buffy and Anne's. Willow, Dawn, Joyce and Tara were out, which meant it was mother and daughter movie night. They were going to watch 'Beauty and the Beast', a perfect description of Buffy and Angel. At least, that's what they thought. Anne was extremely excited. It would be the first night in a while that she got to spend with just her mother. Buffy was always out patrolling, which Anne didn't understand what that was exactly, or out at work, which made her come home smelly.

Anne spent most of her time with Willow, and Dawn. And sometimes when she didn't work, her grandmother would play with her too. Joyce was busy too, just like Buffy was, and then Buffy had spent even less time with her daughter when Joyce got sick. Anne was afraid when her grandmother got sick, because not only was she afraid of hospitals, which was where Joyce went and where they all had to go to visit her, but she could feel her grandmother slowly slipping away.

But then Joyce got better, and everyone was happy again...for the most part.

Anne sat on the couch, holding Piggy, her stuffed pig. Piggy was Mr Gordo's son, who Buffy bought for Anne when she was an infant. Once Anne found out she and her mother had semi-identical pig dolls, she fell in love with Piggy, and never went anywhere without him.

Buffy walked into the livingroom, popcorn in hand. When she walked in and saw Anne falling asleep already, she knew that their night would be peaceful and relaxing. Just as she stepped foot into the living room, Annes eyes snapped open, then closed again. She was exhausted, and Buffy knew it.

"Mama, lets watch the movie," she mumbled, reaching for her.

Buffy knew what she wanted. Smiling, she stood and put the movie in the VCR, and pressed play. She didnt trust Anne with DVDs yet, so everything was a video tape. Sitting down next to her again, she put the popcorn on the coffee table and scooped Anne up into her arms, sitting her on her lap. She instinctively curled up, finding comfort in her mothers arms.

"Mama?"

"What, princess?"

"Do you love me?"

"Of course. More then anything."

Why would she ask something like that? The movie played and the trailers came on; movies from 1992 previewed. Buffy looked down at Anne and stroked her hair soothingly. She didn't understand, but figured she just wanted to be reassured. The movie itself started, and Anne opened her eyes, watching it. Buffy knew she'd wake up when the movie started. It was her favorite.

The door opened slowly, and in walked Riley, who had been unusually moody as of late. He closed the door behind him and walked over to the girls watching the movie. Once he made it to the couch, he sat down and reached to touch Annes cheek. She backed away and hid herself in her mothers arms. In a fit of rage, Riley stood and flipped over the coffee table, without saying one word. Buffy and Anne, both shocked, stared up at him, as they watched his face turn bright red.

"Why do you always do that, Anne? And you, you always let her get away with it."

"Im not going to force her to let you touch her. Obviously, she just doesn't like to be touched."

"She doesn't mind it when you touch her."

"Im her mother. And she knows I wont hurt her."

"Well, Im her father, and I wont hurt her either."

"No. You're not."

If it was possible, Riley's face got redder as his vision switched from Buffy, to Anne.

"What did you say?"

"You're not...my daddy."

"Yes I am."

"No! You're not! The Angel man is!"

Both Riley and Buffy were in slight shock. How did Anne know about Angel?

Angel. Riley despised the man and now, he despised the name. He was going to teach this kid a lesson.

With lightening fast speed, he grabbed Anne from Buffy's lap by her arms and held her up, shaking her.

"Never. Say. That. Name. Again!"

He said with each shake he gave to her small body. She was crying, and Buffy was trying to pry her out of his vice grip. Why was he so damn strong?

"Let her go, Riley! What's wrong with you?"

Tossing Anne onto the couch, he turned to Buffy and punched her square in the cheek. She flew back and landed on the ground. Anne grabbed Piggy and curled up on the corner of the couch, scared. She wanted her mother.

Buffy tried to stand, but was then kicked directly in the ribs, causing her to temporarily lose her breath. Stealing a glance at Anne to see if she was alright, she was thrown off guard, and Riley pinned her down, beginning to tear at her clothes. Why was he so much stronger then she was?

When Dawn, Willow, Tara, and Joyce found them, Buffy was trying desperately to calm Anne down. Nothing was working.

"Its ok, baby. Mommy's ok, and you're ok. See, look. Piggy wants you to know it will be ok, too."

She held the stuffed pig up and made him dance around a bit, but nothing stopped Anne from clutching onto her mother for dear life and shaking like a leaf. She was terrified. Buffy was dressed up in a long t-shirt and shorts; after her clothes got ruined she had to changed. And the worst part?

Anne watched her mother get raped.

Willow was the first to move towards the two, but when Willow made a movement to touch Anne, she started to scream, and try to get herself as close to her mother as she possibly could, to hide herself. Willow didn't understand what she did wrong. Buffy lifted Anne up and held her, to try and calm her still. She stopped screaming and just cried; her shaking never ceasing. Buffy and Willows eyes met and Buffy just shook her head. She'd explain everything later. That's when Willow noticed the huge bruise on Buffy's face.

"Oh, goddess, Buffy...I–"

"Shh."

She whispered, looking over her shoulder at Anne. She was finally asleep. Buffy gestured to Willow to follow her as Buffy carried Anne up the stairs, to Buffy's room. She knew Anne like a book; she'd wake up screaming in the middle of the night, crying for her. It'd be easier if she was already with her so she could make sure she had no nightmares. Opening the door to her bedroom, she walked in and laid Anne gently down, slipping her under the covers.

"Mommy?"

She cried, but Buffy sat down next and stroked her face, to let her know she was there with her, and she drifted right back to sleep. Once she was positive she wouldn't wake, Buffy shifted on the bed to face Willow, who was sitting in a chair across the room.

"My, goddess, Buffy what just happened? Anne never screams when I go to touch her. What did I do wrong? I..I have to make it up to her. Its just–"

"Willow, please. It wasn't you," she kept her voice in a low whisper and looked back at Anne.

She was shaking again.

"Riley. He came over and got angry when she wouldn't let him touch her."

"Touch her? How? Why?"

"I don't know. He's been acting really loony lately. And only a caress on the cheek. I don't think he'd touch her like that."

"So what did he do?"

"Stood and knocked the coffee table over."

Buffy pulled the blanket down slightly to show Willow Anne's arms. Finger-mark bruises covered each of her upper arms. All Buffy heard was a gasp. She couldn't find it in her to look at Willow; she was ashamed.

"He grabbed her and started shaking her when she refused to admit he was her daddy."

"Oh, goddess.."

"She screamed at him, 'The Angel Man is my daddy.' and we were both in shock. How does she know about Angel? I never told her about him."

"Maybe she has dreams, like you do."

"Well, maybe. She screamed that at him before he started to shake her. And she was sleeping before. Its just that–I don't know."

"Buffy, is Riley her father?"

"No. She's right. Angel is."


	2. Beauty Beast

"Angel?!"

Willow yelped loud enough that Anne started crying again. Buffy wasnt in the greatest of moods, after everything that happened and how badly her body hurt. But she wouldnt take it out on Anne. She would take it out on Willow. Buffy lifted Anne up and rocked her soothingly.

Willow watched, knowing Buffy was going to be mad about her waking Anne. And she felt so guilty about it; Anne was obviously scared to be without her mother.

"Mommy, is the..bad man gone? Im scared."

"No, no, baby, he's gone. Shh..Just go back to sleep."

"No, no, no. Im scared."

She gripped Buffy's neck tighter and began shaking again, crying harder then before. At hearing her daughters frighten cries, she began to cry herself, almost being able to see everything that happened through Anne's eyes.

"Its going to be ok, baby, I promise. We're going to go see daddy soon. Would you like that?"

Anne nodded a bit, but her shaking didn't stop.

"Will he make the bad man go away forever?"

"Yes, and he'll protect us forever."

Buffy looked up at Willow, and her eyes automatically hardened. She wasn't angry at her, she was angry in general.

"Baby, Im going to lay you down and talk to aunt Willow outside, is that ok?"

She nodded and reached for both Piggy and Mr Gordo. Buffy smiled as convincingly as she could and handed them both to her, then kissed her forehead.

"Now, get some sleep, princess. I'll be right back."

Slowly, Buffy laid Anne down, and tucked her back in bed. She stood and watched her for a few seconds, stroking her hair back. Buffy was just grateful that it was her that got raped and not her daughter. When Anne was calm, Buffy turned to Willow and motioned to the door, so they could go out and talk.

Buffy let Willow walk out first, so she could look at Anne once more before departing. She stroked Annes arms where her bruises were and sniffled. Riley would pay. She walked out of her room and closed the door quietly. Now, she just hoped nobody else found out but Willow.

"Buffy, what happened?"

"He raped me, and she saw."

"Goddess. She-she saw him..do that to you?"

All Buffy did was nod.

"Are you really going to go see Angel tomorrow?"

"No. Im leaving Anne with him until I can figure out how to get rid of Riley."

"But..what if she wont stay with him?"

"She will. I heard Cordelia was working for him, so she wont only be with a man. And he can keep her safe."

"Why don't you just stay with her and Angel and we can figure out how to deal with Riley?"

"Its not your job. Once Im done with Riley, or whatever happens, I'll go back to Angel and stay with them."

"What happens if you cant deal with Riley and he hurts you again?"

"I..I don't know. I just..."

She sighed somewhat sadly.

"When Angel finds everything out, either he'll love us either way, or he'll throw us out."

"Buffy, Angel wont throw you out and you know it."

"It depends on what kind of man he is now. You never know if he has changed over the years."

"Buffy, no matter how much he'll change, he'll always love you."

"You think so?"

"I know so. Now, you better pack Anne's things if you're going to take her tomorrow."

Smiling, Buffy and Willow both went into Anne's room and getting all her favorite possessions; some toys, favorite dresses, everything. Once they finished, Anne's room was practically empty. Willow had went to bed and Buffy was sitting in her room looking over at Anne from time to time as she wrote. It was a note for Angel, explaining-almost-everything. Once she was finished writing a two page explanation, she climbed into bed with Anne and fell asleep.

Anne woke up screaming at 6:30 in the morning. And it took Buffy and hour and a half to calm her down.

"Time to get dressed, princess."

"Where are we going, mommy?"

"To Los Angeles."

"Why?"

"We're going to visit an old friend."

Anne happily got dressed and was ready with Piggy before Buffy even made her breakfast. She knew the only reason Anne was happy about going out was because, not only would Riley not be with them, but he couldnt find them and she would be with her mother. Or so she thought. Anne ran down the stairs from her mothers room, into the kitchen, flinging herself into Joyce's arms.

"Grandma, we're going to go visit mommy's friend. Do you want to come?"

"No, grandma cant come, princess. Shes got work today."

Anne pouted and hugged her grandmother. Joyce gave Buffy one of her motherly looks, but Buffy just brushed it off.

"So, you ready for a long, tiring day, princess?"

"Yep! When are we leaving, mommy?"

"As soon as you say bye-bye to grandma, aunt Dawn, and aunt Willow."

"What about aunt Tara?"

"Well, she's not here right now. But aunt Willow will tell her you said bye."

Anne nodded and slipped from her grandmothers arms, running to go find her aunts. Buffy sat down on a stool and poured herself a glass of the orange juice that was on the island table. Joyce sat down across from her, less then pleased with how she was raising Anne. And where exactly was she taking her?

"Buffy, where are you taking Anne? And why wasnt it discussed with me?"

"I don't have to discuss what I do with my daughter with you."

"Young lady, you very well do!"

"No I don't! She's my daughter, my responsibility! Don't think that you have any control of either of our lives!"

"Well, I think I have some say in your life. Like who you date, where you go–"

"Who I date? Ok, mom. What do you think about the men I date?"

"Well, Angel was bad for you. Riley was better."

"Riley."

She let out a bitter laugh.

"Riley is why Anne and I are leaving. And Angel? Angel is Anne's father, and the only one I love. You have horrible perception about men."

"Don't you lie! You know Angel cant be Anne's father. You just don't want to be around Riley. We all know he's her father."

"He isnt! Angel is! And Im not discussing this with you! You'll never see Anne again."

Buffy stood and turned around to see Anne standing there, with Willow, watching them. Willow had Anne's bags, knowing they could be leaving at that moment. Buffy walked over to both of them, lifting Anne up in her arms and then taking a few bags from Willow as she carried the rest. Willow followed Buffy to the car, as Joyce ran to the door watching her daughter take away her granddaughter. Buffy dropped everything of Anne's in the trunk, which Willow opened for her, then opened the backseat and put Anne in her car seat, buckling her in.

"Mama, I want Mr Gordo and Piggy."

"Ok, baby. Give me a minute."

Buffy saw that Willow was already prepared, holding both stuffed pigs. Buffy smiled and took them, hugging her best friend.

"I'll call you when we get into L.A."

"Im gonna miss my squeaker."

"She'll miss you too. Hey, I'll give her your cell phone number so she can call you."

"Thats great. How long are you going to stay in L.A.?"

"Just long enough to know that Anne will be ok staying with Angel."

"Are you going to talk to him?"

"No. Im sending Anne in, with a letter I wrote for him. Nothing more."

"Isnt he going to be upset about that?"

"It doesnt matter. What does matter is that Anne is safe."

"Right."

Buffy looked back at her mother, then at Willow again.

"I guess we better get going."

"Ok, don't forget to call."

They both smiled as they silently said their goodbyes. Buffy closed the trunk and then handed Anne the dolls she wanted.

"Here, princess. All buckled in?"

"Yeah, mommy."

"Good."

She closed the car door and then walked over to her side, getting in and starting up her red Mercedes. She waved back at Willow then drove off, pulling out of the garage and driving towards the highway.

Willow turned back to the house and saw Joyce still standing there. Willow, slowly, walked passed her and headed back into the house. Before she made it up the steps, she heard Joyce's voice speak softly.

"I didnt get to say goodbye."

By time Buffy made it to the Hyperion hotel with Anne, she was asleep, letting out a small snore, as Buffy did as she slept. She looked back at her briefly and smiled. She was going to miss her, but she was doing what she had to. She parked and shut the car. Just as she did, Anne woke up, a bit disoriented.

"Mama? Mama?"

She babbled, not registering where she was or what was going on. Buffy turned to her and rubbed her cheek, to let her know she was ok and Buffy was there with her.

"Its ok, baby. Im here. But, we're gonna get out now. We made it."

Buffy got out and closed her door and went over to Annes door, opening it and unbuckling her out of her car seat. Anne extended her arms out to her and Buffy lifted her up, carrying her out. She balanced her on her hip and went to the back, getting her bags and carrying them to the entrance of the hotel. She took a deep breath and looked at Anne, who was resting her head on her shoulder. Buffy took the envelope from one of Anne's bags and handed it to her.

"Only give this to the man with the pointy hair and brown eyes. Like yours."

"Ok, mommy. I will."

She said sleepily as her mother kissed her cheek. Opening the door, with difficulty and walked in. Without looking up from her computer screen, Cordelia spoke.

"Angel Investigations. We help the hopeless."

"I guess we came to the right place."

Buffy joked, and that's when Cordelia looked up.

"Oh, my god, B-"

"Shh!"

Buffy didn't want Angel to know she was there. Buffy walked over to Cordelia's desk and dropped the bags as silently as she could, then hugged her, with Anne still in her arms.

"Its so great to see you! And who is this little cutie?"

"This is Anne Elizabeth O'Connor."

"O'Connor, but that's Angel's .."

Buffy looked down at her half asleep daughter and nodded.

"She's Angel's."

"How did that happen?"

"Thanksgiving of '99. She's my miracle."

"She's adorable. Do you..want me to get Angel?"

"No, I don't want him to know Im here. But..Im leaving Anne in his care."

Detaching Anne from her body, she transferred her from her arms, to Cordelia's.

"Princess, mommy is going to leave you with aunt Cordy and daddy for a while ok?"

"Where are you going, mama?"

"Back home. I have to take care of the bad man."

And at the mention of him, she began shaking in Cordelia's arms. Cordelia didn't understand, but figured that whoever it was, did something pretty bad.

"Mama, please don't leave me."

"I have to. I promise I'll be back."

"I don't..want you to go."

"I know. But, aunt Cordy is going to play with you. Look, I brought your toys. And your movies. You can watch 'Beauty and the Beast' and tell aunt Cordy how much it reminds you of a certain someone."

Anne sniffled, but agreed.

"Ok, mommy. I love you."

"I love you too, princess. Be good."

With one last kiss to her daughters forehead she left through the door she came in, and didnt look back. Buffy almost ran to her car so she didnt run back into the hotel and snatch her daughter back. No, she had to be strong and take care of Riley herself. Getting into her car and starting it, tears in her eyes, she drove off, wanting to get out of Los Angeles as fast as she possibly could. Picking up her cell phone, she dialed Willows number and waited.

"Will, I did it."

"Is she ok?

"She cried, and Im crying, but she'll be fine."

"Buffy, Im sorry."

"Don't be. Its for the best. Angel has your number so if anything, its you he calls."

"You saw him?"

"No. Its all in the letter."

Cordelia looked around at everything and then at Anne, who had eventually stopped shaking, and was falling asleep again.

"Hey, Anne do you want to watch a movie?"

She nodded slowly.

"What movie?"

"Beauty Beast."

"Ok, then. 'Beauty Beast' it is."

Cordelia smiled at her choice of wording and sat her down in her chair. Bending down, she dug through her bags looking for the movie. Angel walked up from his apartment downstairs, wondering what all the walking around was about above his head. The elevator brought him up as he looked around the office, seeing nothing, or at least not noticing anything other then Cordelia's feet.

"Cordelia? Why..are you on the floor?"

"Oh! Angel!"

She stood up, clutching the tape she finally found. She looked at Angel, then Anne, who was curled up on her chair clutching the two pigs.

"Uh, sorry. I was just looking for this."

She waved the tape around.

"What is it?"

"'Beauty and the Beast'."

She spoke slowly, trying not to sound like a crazy person. His eyebrows rased at her answer.

"Why were you looking for that?"

"...Anne...wanted to watch it."

"Whose Anne?"

Cordelia didnt know what to say to him so she just pointed to the little girl sleeping on her chair.

"Buffys baby."

"And yours."


	3. The Bad Man Hurt Me

Angel didnt know what to say for a minute. He thought he heard her wrong.

"M-mine?"

"Yours. Anne is your baby too."

"How? I..We.."

"She remembers. She calls Anne 'Her Miracle.' Which, technically, she is."

"Oh, god."

"God doesn't compare, to what you should be saying."

"She's...my daughter?"

It wasnt processing and he couldn't believe it. He took a step closer to her small sleeping form to see her clutching onto, not only a letter, but two pigs, which he recognized one to be Mr Gordo.

"She is, Angel."

"What's her whole name?"

"Anne Elizabeth O'Connor."

"My..name. Buffy gave her my name."

Cordelia realized that he wouldn't be getting any closer to her unless he was helped. So she walked over to him, determined to get him to know his daughter better, even if she was sleeping. Taking his hand, and still clutching the video tape, she walked him over to the chair, and let him get a closer look at his daughter. He resisted at first, but then gave in. As he got closer to her, a low growl came from him, seeing the bruises on her arms. At first Cordelia didn't know why, but then she saw the darkening bruises on her arm.

"Oh, my god. What happened to her?"

"I don't know..but it wasn't Buffy. It was someone bigger. Look."

He brushed his fingers lightly against her arm, showing Cordelia how the prints were almost identical.

"A man hurt her."

Cordelia could almost feel the anger radiating off of him. She found it extremely unnerving.

"Angel..It'll be ok...We can keep her here."

Tears almost burst free as he watched her sleeping. She looked so fragile and small. She was delicate, that was a given, but she was just so tiny. Inching over to her, he finally got the nerve to lift her up, cradling her in his arms.

"Im going to bring her downstairs. Its safe there. And clean."

"But what about her things?"

"I'll come get them later."

Going downstairs, he knew he was going to have to fix up the guest room for her, and make it hers. But for the moment, he was going to put her in his bed. Finally making it downstairs, he felt the warmth of her body against him, but also felt her shaking. She had to have been scared; she didn't know who she was with. Bringing her to his room, the one protected from sunlight, he placed her down on the bed, tucking her in. He made sure he didn't detatch Mr Gordo or the other pig from her, because if she was anything like Buffy, she would throw a fit.

He brought a chair from the corner of the room and put it across from the bed, so he could watch her. He sat down and just watched his little girl, fast asleep. He heard the small snore that came from her, and reminded him of Buffy. He was so lost in thought that, he didnt realize she was having a nightmare until she started screaming.

"Mommy! No, the..bad man! Mama!"

"Anne! Anne, its ok."

He had rushed over to the bed and scooped her up, trying to comfort her. She had dropped, not only the pigs, but the letter also. When she realized she was being held, she knew it wasn't her mother, but, it was someone comforting and who made her feel safe. She was shaking in his arms, but had fully woken up, and was staring up at him. When their eyes met, she saw her own, and she remembered what her mother had said.

'_Only give this to the man with the pointy hair and brown eyes. Like yours'_

She blinked a few times, but knew who she was looking at.

"Daddy?"

He smiled, and almost started crying at her words.

"Hi, baby."

"Mommy told me I was going to meet you today."

She smiled slightly and sat up on his lap, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him. He held her as if she was his lifeline, holding her as close as he could without smothering her. When she pulled away, she reached on the bed and picked up the envelope.

"Its for you. Mama, she told me to give it to the man with pointy hair..."

She touched the spikes in his hair and giggled, then continued talking.

"And with eyes like mine."

She looked into his eyes and handed it to him. He looked from her, to the envelope in her hand. He took it and opened it slowly. It was from Buffy; he recognized her handwriting.

_Angel,_

_Im sorry to just pop up out of the blue, but there was something back in Sunnydale; something so dangerous that I couldn't protect Anne from. Im ashamed, I should have protected her better, but I couldn't. Angel..Anne, she's...she's your daughter. Her eyes and her hair comes from you. And she's shy and sweet like you. A sweetheart. And, Im sorry I didn't tell you about her. Everyone thought she was...Riley's daughter. She's NOT. The reason why I thought Anne would be safer with you then with me, is because of Riley. He...well, you don't really need to know, unless I or Anne tells you. But I cant tell you in this letter. Sorry, again. God, I seem to be saying that a lot, especially to the ones I love most; you and Anne. Anyway, there are things I have to tell you about Anne. She has nightmares, about what had happened with everything. Let her tell you what's wrong. And I bet your daddy senses have kicked in already. Ha, I made a mini-funny. Im off the subject. Willow is the only one allowed to see Anne; nobody else. If Riley tracked her down, don't let him take her. But now, Im just being overprotective and ramble-y. Here's Willows number. If anything happens, call her. I don't trust anyone else. Give Anne my love. _

_I love you,_

_Buffy._

Angel folded the letter back up again and looked down at his little girl. She was staring up at him, as if she was trying to memorize his face. She smiled when their eyes met and he gave her a smile back.

"Anne? What were you dreaming about before? You were..scared."

Tears formed in her eyes and her lower lip stuck out and quivered. She was scared. She got closer to him, burying her face against his chest. He held her, not wanting her to keep anything from him; he'd protect her.

"The bad man. The bad man hurts mommy."

"Who is the bad man, Anne?"

"Im scared, daddy."

"I know, but I wont let him near you again. Ever."

"Promise?"

"I swear."

"Riley. He hurts mommy a lot. And me."

"What does he do? Daddy will take care of him."

"The day before this one...he took his winky, and put it inside mommy. She was screaming and I was scared. And before that he hurt me here."

She pointed to her arms.

"He wanted to...touch me. I didn't want him to touch me, daddy."

She was sobbing. Touching was obviously a sore spot. He was going to find out why.

"Did he touch you before?"

She nodded.

"Where did he touch you?"

She looked around and picked up Piggy and pointed to his non-existent private part.

"H-he touched you between..your legs?"

She nodded and cried burying her face in his chest. Oh, god, oh, god..what was he going to do? Cordelia! She would know. Picking Anne up again, he carried her upstairs, finding Cordelia at her desk again.

"Cordelia," he choked out.

"What is it, Angel?"

"Call the police and send them to Sunnydale."

"Why?"

He put Anne down on the couch in the middle of the room, and then walked over to her bags, retrieving some toys for her to play with. Handing them to her, he smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Play, baby. Daddy will be right here."

She nodded, having already calmed down and was now occupied with toys. Angel walked over to Cordelia and whispered.

"Riley Finn molested her. I want that bastard castrated and killed."

Cordelia looked over at Anne, seeing her playing happily. She couldn't imagine someone hurting someone so young. Right then and there, she did as Angel said, no other questions asked.


	4. You Better Run, Mr Finn

The cops arrived in Sunnydale too late.

Riley had fled.

When word got back to Angel, he was irate. Cordelia had never seen him so angry. Not only had this..Fish raped Buffy, but he had also violated his little girl. Anne didn't understand why her father was so angry all of a sudden. Sure, he was upset when she told him what the bad man did, but that was days ago. Then this blonde lady came in and spoke to him, and he got so mad, he broke an axe. Anne wasn't afraid, though. She knew he wouldn't hurt her. And her mother also broke an axe after getting angry. It was a thing.

She was beginning to get bored with her toys. She got up from the small couch and walked over to her father, tugging on his shirt.

"Daddy?"

He stopped talking to the blonde lady, and looked down at her, trying to hide his anger the best he could.

"What baby?"

He asked, lifting her up into his arms.

"Im hungry."

"What do you want to eat?"

"Macky cheese."

"Then that's what Princess Anne gets."

He smiled and carried her to the kitchen, gesturing to the blonde to follow. She sat down on a chair and Angel put Anne next to her.

"Who are you?"

Anne asked innocently, looking from her, to her father.

"Im Kate. What's your name?"

"Anne. Why are you here?"

"Anne, I think you're asking too many questions."

Angel said with a small chuckle, as he boiled the water for Anne's Mac and cheese. Kate shook her head and laughed a bit.

"No, its ok. Im in her house, she can ask."

Kate looked from Angel to Anne.

"Im a police officer. Im looking for Riley."

At his name, Anne jumped up from her chair and ran to her father, clutching onto his leg. Kate didn't know what she said wrong, but Angel sure did. Picking Anne up, he walked over to the fridge and gave her a juice box, to calm her down. After taking a few breaths and drinking her juice, she was calmer, and had her head resting on Angels shoulder. He finished up with her food and put it in a bowl for her, placing it on the table. He went to sit her down, but she wouldn't let him go.

"No, daddy! Don't let me go!"

"Ok, shh. I'll sit with you. Do you want me to feed you or can you do it?"

"I..can do it, daddy."

He sat with her on the chair as Kate watched in slight shock. She didn't know what was going on. Angel picked up the bowl for her and held it, as she fed herself with a spoon. Angel didn't want her to use forks yet; he was overly protective and was afraid that she would hurt herself with one.

"I-Im sorry," Kate stuttered.

"No, its ok. Its just a touchy subject for her. And me."

"Daddy? When is mommy coming back?"

Angel looked from Anne to Kate, not knowing what to say. He wasn't expecting Anne to ask him that.

"I don't know, baby."

"I miss her."

"I know. I miss her too."

"When she comes back, will you and her be in love?"

He chuckled at her wording, and nodded a bit.

"Yeah, we'll be in love. We'll be in love even when we're apart."

Anne took that into consideration as she continued eating. Kate looked from Anne to Angel, and he gave her a smile that made her just melt. They had worked on a few cases together and she had gotten to really like him. She had kinda forgotten the part about him having a daughter and had completely zoned out when he and Anne spoke of Buffy. She wanted to change the subject.

"So, Angel, what are your plans for today?"

"Well, after Anne eats, I was thinking about giving her a bath and then putting her down for a nap. Then, I promised Cordelia that she could help cook Anne's dinner since she had been eating with us for days and didn't cook anything. She feels bad..surprisingly. And then, after dinner, Anne and I watch a movie, then she goes to sleep. But other then that nothing. Why?"

"Well, I was wondering if you'd like to get coffee or something."

"Um..yeah, I guess that would be ok. But I'll have to ask Cordelia to watch Anne."

"Daddy, I don't want you to go out."

"Its ok, Anne. You'll be with aunt Cordy. Wont that be fun?"

She crossed her arms over her chest and got off his lap. He caught a glimpse of her as she walked up the stairs; she was all pouty. He shook his head and rubbed his temples.

"She's just like her mother."

"I hope you don't think of me being nosey, but who is her mother?"

"Buffy Summers."

"Where is she?"

"She's back home, in Sunnydale. She brought Anne here so I could protect her..from Riley."

"Oh, Im so sorry. She just..dropped her off?"

"Yeah. I didn't even know about Anne until a few days ago. But I love her anyway. She's my world."

Anne stomped upstairs, near tears. Daddy was going out on a date, when he was in love with mommy! Cordelia heard the mini stampede and looked, seeing Anne extremely upset.

"Anne? What's wrong?"

"Daddy's going out on a date. With _that_ lady. I don't like her."

She kept her arms crossed over her chest, pouty look on her face. It scared Cordelia how much she looked like Buffy. She couldn't believe Angel didn't let her win just by seeing that face. Standing from her desk, she walked over to her and bent down, holding her at arms length.

"I don't like her either. We can make a 'Hate Kate' club."

Anne smiled and wrapped her arms around Cordelia's neck, hugging her.

"I love you, aunt Cordy."

"I love you, Princess A."

Anne smiled a bit, but then her face turned somewhat pensive and alert. Cordelia noticed, but didn't think anything of it.

"Run."

Anne whispered, as her eyes shifted to the door.

Riley.

Cordelia stood and saw the man at the door, she didn't know who he was.

"Can I help you?"

Anne tugged on her shirt, hiding behind her in fear.

"Aunt Cody..Please.."

"Wait, Anne."

She looked down at her and saw the fear in her eyes, then looked back at Riley, seeing a gun pointed at her.

"What do you want?"

"The girl."

Cordelia looked down at Anne and made sure she stayed safely behind her.

"No."

"Then you leave me no choice."

The gun shot and hit Cordelia in the shoulder, making her fall back. Anne knew something was going to happen. Looking down at Cordelia, who was going in and out of consciousness and bleeding too freely, Anne bent down next to her, to try and help her.

"Daddy!!"

She screamed, hoping he heard her.

He did.

Rushing up with Kate, all he found was Cordelia on the ground. No Anne.

"Cordy!," he ran over to her and put pressure on her wound; Kate called 911.

"Where is she? Where's Anne?"

"Took her..Riley," she only assumed it was him.

Angel ran out, Kate staying with Cordelia, and looked down each block.

"Anne!"

He yelled, searching for his daughter. He was out for blood now. Riley was too fast; he couldn't smell her. He ran back into the hotel, kneeling down by Cordelia.

"An ambulance will be here soon."

"He took Anne," Angel was sobbing, kneeling over Cordelia.

Kate looked at him and then down at her police radio. Turning it on again, she called for a cop car to look for Riley again. All Angel knew was that they had better find him.

They could hear the sirens; the ambulance arrived. They rushed in, carrying in a stretcher. Lifting Cordelia up gently, the put her on and rolled her out, putting her in the ambulance car.

"Angel, are you going with her?"

"No, you go. I..I need Anne."

"I'll send someone else with you. I'll help you find Anne."

Angel was motionless as he watched everyone taking Cordelia out. Then the sirens faded. He had let Anne down.

And Cordelia.

And Buffy.

Angel looked down at his hands and saw the blood, and then at the floor where a puddle of it was. He saw a hand print of Anne's in the blood. He was going to stock up on weapons and then search for Riley–to torture and kill him.

The doors swung open, and in walked a petite blonde, who looked as if she was trying to look pleasant to please. Angel and Kate turned around and all Angel wondered was if his night could get worse. She noticed the blood on the ground, on his hands and the one thing that almost made her scream her heart out; the small hand print in blood.

"Buffy," Angel whispered.


	5. Mommy, Daddy, and Baby

She looked as if she was going to pass out. Her mouth opened, making her look like a fish out of water. She couldn't find her voice. Her hand slowly raised to cover her mouth as her other hand pointed to the puddle of blood.

"Buffy.."

Angel said, before he did anything else.

"Where's Anne?"

She spoke, her voice full of tears. He looked down at his bloodied hands then back up at her.

"Buffy, please."

"Angel, where is Anne?!," she yelled, but Angel didn't hold it against her. She was scared.

"Riley..."

Buffy gagged, her stomach having a party, complete with somersaults and butterflies. She hunched over, falling to her knees. Angel instinctively ran over to her, but she pushed him away.

"You were supposed to protect her! What were you doing?!"

Buffy looked up and saw Kate standing there, listening to their conversation.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Kate Lockley. A cop."

"Then why weren't you doing your job?"

Kate looked from Buffy, to Angel, looking for an answer. But Buffy didn't want an answer from Angel, she wanted it from Kate.

"What were you doing while my baby was being kidnaped?!"

"I..Angel?"

Buffy looked from them both and stood up, disgusted and slowly.

"Oh. I see. Well Im glad that you're dating, Angel. But the fact that you were busy trying to lose your soul instead of watch over our baby really makes me think a lot less of you."

"Buffy, no."

But she wasn't having any of that. Without even a second glance, she turned and walked out of the hotel, going out to save her daughter. She knew she was going to have to go back to Sunnydale, unless they had a base for the Initiative in Los Angeles too. But she didn't put that past them. As she stepped out of the hotel, she got a rush, and watched as a black van zoomed past her.

"Anne."

She got into her car and drove after them. She knew her baby was in the van. She knew it.

The last thing Anne remembered was screaming for her father, sitting next to Cordelia. Cordy! Was she ok? Anne opened her eyes and tried to move her arms apart, but found that she couldn't. She whimpered and curled up into a ball, seeing three heavily armed men watching her. One of them, she knew was Riley. Her body shook in intense fear; what did he want from her?

"You're finally awake, huh? Took long enough. I didn't hit you that hard."

Anne lifted her bound hands to her face, feeling the bruise already forming by her eye. She hissed at the pain and closed her eyes. Where was her father?

Angel was extremely upset with how everything turned out. He let out a primeval growl, the roar echoing throughout the hotel. Angelus was out for Riley's-and whoever else was with him- blood. With his leather duster fluttering behind him, he ran out of the hotel, not caring about anything but Anne and Buffy. He got into his black convertible, and saw Buffy take off like a bat out of hell. He also felt the rush.

Anne.

He did the same, taking off after not only the black van, but the red Mercedes also.

The van stopped abruptly by a loading dock. Jumping out, Riley grabbed Anne by her arm and carried her with him. She looked around, hoping her father found her. But didn't see anything. But her sense were telling her different. She felt him; her father. But then, she felt double the rush, and knew her mother was coming too. She smiled slightly to herself, knowing everything would soon be ok. Two of the men that were in the back of the van with her stayed to watch guard, but the driver and Riley continued on. There seemed to be a secret door that they were opening. Or trying to open. When they finally got it open, Riley took his extra frustrations out on Anne.

He backhanded her, and she fell, scraping her knee in the process. While she was down, he kicked her. Why? What did she do? She was crying, just trying to get away. Anne saw Riley's gun go up in the air, and she knew he was going to hit her with it. Closing her eyes, ready for the deathly blow, she only felt a rush, and a gust of air. When she looked, Riley was no longer above her; he was on the ground a few feet away from her.

Once the van stopped, Angel had gotten out of his car and hidden in the shadows, while Buffy did god knows what. One minute, Riley was dragging Anne away. Angel moved stealthily behind a crate and then looked again. The next minute she was on the ground and he was about to hit her with his gun. With lightening fast speed Angel jumped at Riley, flinging him away from Anne.

Buffy got out of her car after parking it behind a few crates. She noticed the vans back door was opened and Anne wasn't inside. Now, she didn't care. She got out from hiding and attacked one of the armed men, the other charging at her from behind. Hitting him with her elbow, he fell back, stunned for a minute. The other, she punched mercilessly, letting out all her anger and feat and taking it out on one of the men that helped kidnap her baby. The second one stood again, but was stopped, feeling a gun to his head.

"Police."

Angel hit and kicked Riley until he was unconscious. It would be time for fun soon enough. He looked around and saw the cops all over the place. He wanted Riley for himself, but he knew, that may not happen. Grabbing Riley by his collar, he dragged him to an open crate and locked him in there; he would go back for him later. He ran over to Anne and untied her. She was ecstatic to see her father.

"Daddy!"

She cried, wrapping her arms around his neck. He picked her up and cradled her in his arms.

"Princess, you're ok."

"Daddy, I was scared."

"I know, but its over now. That bad man wont hurt you or mommy again."

"You promised."

"And now Im keeping that promise."

He looked at her face, seeing the bruise.

"You need ice on that. Ready to go home?"

"Yeah. Im tired."

She rested her head on his shoulder, finding comfort with him. He began to walk to his car with her when Buffy ran to them, snatching Anne from him.

"Baby, are you ok?"

"Mommy?"

"Its me, baby."

"You said you were going to make the bad man go away. You didn't. Daddy did."

"I know. And Im sorry. I did my best."

"I know, mama."

"Come on. Its time to go back home. Everyone misses you."

"No, I want to go back home with daddy."

"What?"

"I like it there."

"But..you live with me. And aunt Willow and aunt Dawn."

"But, I like living with daddy. You live with us, mommy. Mommy and daddy together!"

Buffy looked from Anne to Angel. She didn't know how to react or what to say. Angel smiled down at Anne and then looked at Buffy, seeing her questionable expression.

"She does have a good point. Mommy and daddy together. Sounds good to me. How about you?"

He looked over at Buffy and smiled, seeing her look soften with his words.

"You want me to live with you, Angel?"

"Its what I've always wanted."

"I thought you were dating Kate."

At Buffy's words, Anne pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. Both of them laughed at their daughter.

"Ok, but I need a few days. Having to pack up my stuff. And the rest of Anne's."

"We'll go back and help you."

Buffy smiled, hugging Angel, Anne still in her arms.


	6. Pay Back, Fish Boy

**WARNING: CONTAINS VIOLENCE, SEXUAL CONTENT, AND DESCRIPTIVE TORTURE.**

"Buffy, do you have everything, yet? Anne is getting tired and its almost sunset."

"Almost everything. Theres a few things in my closet I need!"

"Well, in that case, Im going to finish loading up the car and put Anne in her car seat."

"Ok."

Angel smiled at his 'wife's hurried response, and carried Anne, who was sleeping on a box of Buffys belongings and lifted her up, carrying her to his car. She mumbled something and he smiled, holding her closer. Opening the front door and leaving it open, so he could carry all her things out, and then walked her to his black convertible. He opened the backseat and placed her in her car seat, making sure he didn't wake her. She slept peacefully with Piggy right next to her seat. He walked over to the door and lifted up the box that was there, then placed it on the floor under Anne's feet. He didn't want to wake her by putting it next to her.

He walked back into the house, but still kept his eye on Anne.

"Buffy? You ready yet?"

"Yeah! Coming!"

Buffy ran down the steps with a medium sized box.

"What's that?"

"Oh, just a few..sentimental things."

She smiled and kissed his cheek, then ran to the car. At seeing Anne she smiled and kissed her forehead. She placed the box beside her and then got in the passengers seat. Angel followed suit, getting in the driver seat.

"Ready?"

"Yup."

And with that, they drove away, back to their home in Los Angeles.

Riley was still rotting away in that crate, waiting for Angels return. He knew Angel was the only one who knew he was in there, so he would be the one to let him out. But Riley knew it wouldn't be a friendly meeting. He'd have to fight for his life. But, he had spent three and a half days in there, with no food or water; he wasn't sure he had any strength left. Maggie Walsh's pills have worn off, and his strength was back to normal. He was just a human with a gun. Nothing more, nothing less.

Angel pulled up in front of the hotel, with both of his girls sleeping. But once he stopped the car, the woke up; feeling the rush.

"We're-"

"Home!"

Anne finished his sentence happily, bouncing around in her car seat. Buffy laughed at her excited daughter and nodded.

"That's right. We're home. Ready to get out?"

"Yeah. I wanna play!"

"Remember, Anne. Tomorrow we're going to go visit aunt Cordy in the hospital."

"I remember, daddy. I made her a card, remember?"

She smiled, speaking just as he did to her. He smiled back at her and shook his head.

"She's just like you, its scary."

Angel mumbled to Buffy, and all he got back was a laugh. Buffy got out and went around to Anne's door and opened it, unbuckling and picking her up.

"So, is daddy going to be a big man and carry in all our boxes?"

She gave him a smile and took Piggy from the car, walking inside. Angel rolled his eyes a bit then went to retrieve all the boxes that Buffy had previously packed.

"What I do for love."

He mumbled as he began carrying in his loves belongings.

Buffy carried Anne in and then placed her down by her toys, so she could play.

"Mommy. Piggy."

She reached up for the stuffed pig in her mothers hands.

"Sorry, baby."

Buffy handed her daughter the pig and then walked over to the mini fridge, taking out a juice box for Anne. Walking back over to her, she handed her the juice, and then walked over to the door.

"Baby, you got everything?"

From over three boxes, he nodded.

"Yeah..until I break my back."

"Baby, you cant break your back."

He grumbled something and then carried everything into the hotel. Dropping all of Buffy's boxes in the middle of the room, he looked over at Anne, playing by Cordelia's desk. Smiling, he walked over to her and sat down, picking up Mr Gordo.

"Daddy, want to play?"

"Sure. I'll play with you, if you want me to."

"I like when you play with me."

"I like playing with my little girl."

She smiled and crawled over to him, sitting on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead.

"Daddy? Is the bad man gone forever?"

"Baby, I promise. Forever and ever he's gone."

"I watched the bad man hurt mommy. And then that was when mama brought me here to stay with you and aunt Cordy."

"I know, princess. But there is no more bad man. Daddy took care of him and he will never hurt you or mommy again."

"Did you make him hurt a lot?"

"Oh, yes. A lot. He deserved it."

After she was assured once again, that Riley was no more, they played together, father and daughter. Buffy watched from the elevator, the scene before her. He was so gentle and calm with her; Riley was never like that. Then again, Riley wasn't her father. After doing a few more things around the hotel, Buffy began to cook dinner for Anne, knowing Angel didn't eat.

"Anne! Go wash your hands! Dinner is almost ready!"

"Ok, mama!"

Anne called back to her, getting up from her fathers lap.

"Daddy, are you going out tonight? With that lady?"

She made a face, making Angel laugh. He shook his head, standing also.

"I am going out, but not with that lady. Im in love with mommy; I'll never go out with that lady."

Anne smiled and hugged him, then ran down stairs to her mother, rushing to do as she told her. Once Anne was out of sight, Angel grabbed his coat and left, heading for the loading docks.

The crate was opening; Riley was rejoicing. But then his reaction changed when he saw who was setting him free. The mask of an angry vampire was staring at him; less then pleased.

"You made a big mistake hurting my wife and daughter."

Riley shrunk down to three times less his size. He was so scared, he was peeing his arm suit.

"Im sorry. Please, I wont hurt them again."

"Oh. Im here to make sure of that."

The world went black for Mr Riley Finn.

When he woke, he couldn't move, he couldn't see, but he could hear.

"Beloved, I'll be home soon. There are just a few things I need to take care of. Yes...yes, I know I promised her a bedtime story, tell her daddy will be home soon to read to her. Ok, goodbye, love."

He heard something snap shut, which he assumed it was a phone. He heard a sigh and footsteps getting closer to him.

"Riley, Riley, Riley. Foolish human. Or should I say, _demon._"

Riley was confused.

"Im not a demon."

His voice was small and meek. He was afraid of what Angel was going to do to him, and he had every reason to be. Angelus was coming to the surface, just wanting to splash Riley's blood all over the warehouse they were in. He wanted to, and he would.

"How much do you want to bet, your blood isn't red. I bet your life."

Riley's heart stopped.

Angel ripped the blindfold from the rapist/molester/and overall bastard's face, letting him watch what he was going to do. Angelus, Angel fully gone now, took a knife from the assortment he had, and twirled it in front of Riley's face. Fear radiated off him in waves.

Angelus was immensely pleased.

With one quick motion, the knife went into the commando's thigh, green goo splashing all over both of their faces. At Riley's pain filled screams, Angelus smiled, and wiped the tampered demon blood from his face.

"I win."

Riley then realized, he wasn't getting out of there alive. He was chained up to a wall, and there were weapons all over the place. This would be where he died. He knew it. He didn't want to know how he became a demon, or how Angelus planned to kill him; he just wanted it over with. But, Angelus had other plans.

"Now, Fish Boy, I wonder what I should do to you first. Rape you like you raped Buffy? And don't get any ideas, I'd use a pipe on your ass. Or..shall I castrate you so you cant hurt either of my girls?"

"Please...just kill me..."

"Oho, no. It doesn't work that way. You wont get off _that_ easily."

Angelus let out a hardy laugh, tugging the knife out of Riley's leg. He would make the last hours of Riley Finn's life, the most painful he could have ever imagined. Angelus liked his second idea best. He walked back over to the assortment of weapons, to find a set of huge scissors; clippers. He smirked at the thought. He kneeled back down to Riley and cut his pants, until there was nothing left but scraps of cloth. His penis stay limp, but soon, his crotch would have a vacancy sign there. Opening the clippers, with one swift snip, it was on the ground, and Riley was screaming at the top of his lungs.

Angelus smiled at his screams, but made a face at the splatter of green blood all over the place. It sickened him. He tossed the clippers aside, seeing that Riley was starting to lose consciousness from the loss of blood. He had to work fast. Flipping him over, he found a discarded, rusted pipe and shoved it up his ass; eliciting a scream from him. He had one more thing to do before he would let him die.

A butcher knife was sufficient, so that's what he used. He began skinning him, starting from the bottom and ending at his shoulders. He wanted people to find him, to see what had happened to the pervert. Once he had expertly finished skinning Riley, he laid it out of the ground and flipped him back over again. He was surely dead. But Angelus wanted to make sure he _stayed_ dead. He shoved the knife into his heart, then slit his throat. That should do it. Then he carved words on his chest, just to make him feel better.

_Fish boy; rapist, molester, all around deserved to die._

In Angels, and Angelus, eyes, justice had been done. Greatly. Fish boy had been left there to be found and Angel headed home to read a book to Anne and then spend some time with Buffy. He was ultimately proud of his achievements. At least he was a demon and not a full human.

Angel's guilty conscience had been lifted of the weight from not being there for Buffy and Anne.

Yes, he was too late, but the Dark Avenger came through in the end.


	7. Get What You Deserve

Angel walked into the Hyperion hotel, sightly green. At first sight, he was sick, to those who knew of supernatural occurrences, would take a second guess. He could smell Riley's demon blood all over him, and it grossed him out beyond compare. He wanted a bath.

Buffy heard the door to the hotel open-she had already put Anne to bed and set her up with a movie, so she'd be asleep by time Angel got back- and ran up to greet him. She wanted to know where he was. Once she reached the main floor of the hotel, she saw him digging in the mini-fridge, no doubt looking for a blood packet. She smiled, but put her hands on her hips to look more..stern and controlling.

When his head came up, his fangs were imbedded in the blood pack. He turned and saw her, and he swallowed loudly. He was in trouble. Taking the plastic bag away from his mouth, he shifted back to his human face and wiped his mouth. He knew from where they both were, she probably couldn't see the green on him.

"Just where have you been, mister?"

"Out. Killing. Same old."

He smiled slightly and walked to the garbage, tossing the plastic in it. He didn't know if he should tell her what he did or not. He didn't want to upset her. She walked over to him, knowing that tonight wasn't just like every other. As she got closer to him, she saw the green, and backed away a few steps.

"What happened? What were you fighting?"

"Uh...demon. Big. Very gross."

"Why didn't you call me? I could have asked my dad to watch Anne."

"Because I could handle it. I did. And everything is fine."

"There's something you're not telling me."

He sighed and shook his head, walking away from her.

"I told you everything, Buffy."

"The police called."

He stopped.

"They said that they didn't find Riley at the docks. But they found him tonight."

"And?"

"He's dead."

"Good. He deserved it."

"You killed him, didn't you, Angel?"

"So what if I did?"

"He was human."

"No, he wasnt."

He wiped some green goo off his shirt.

"This is his blood. Last I check, humans have red blood."

"You killed him..Wait, demon?"

"Very demon. He's a mutated lab rat."

"What did you do to him?"

"I wont get into details."

"Did you make it hurt?"

He remembered Anne asking almost the same thing before.

"Yes. I did. I made sure he screamed. He begged me, at first not to kill him, then once the pain became to great, to just kill him."

"Did you?"

"No. I made him hurt a little bit more."

"Good. I was happy he went after me and not Anne. I didn't want her to be hurt by him."

"You don't know, do you?," he mumbled, but he knew she heard him.

"Know what?"

"Riley...he..."

"Angel. What?"

"He molested Anne."

"No. T-that's not true."

"Why do you think I sent the cops after him in the first place? Anne told me. Actually, she showed me on Piggy where he hurt her."

"No..Angel, please no."

He knew she was breaking down. He walked over to her, and she wrapped her arms around him, not caring about the demon blood he was covered in, and sobbed on his chest. They were comforting each other now. When they looked at each other, they were in a white room, not in the hotel lobby anymore. The looked around, and saw a man and a woman in front of them. The woman was holding Anne.

"Warriors," they spoke in unison.

Angel reluctantly let go of Buffy and walked to them. Buffy did the same, but was fighting back to urge to run and take Anne from the strange woman's arms. They both sensed her inner battle, so they figured it would be a good time to reassure them.

"Do not fear for the child's safety. We are the two that created her."

Her brother looked at her.

"Well, we helped. You two did all the work."

"Correct. And we brought you here for a reason, warriors of light."

Both of their gazes shifted on Angel.

"You. You killed Riley Finn. For her," they pointed at Buffy. "And for her," they looked down at Anne.

"You had been lucky, he was a demon. Even if he wasn't, we know you still would have killed him, and for that, you get your shanshu early. You deserve it. You sacrificed everything, the shanshu, redemption, love, the life you now lead, to get back at the man that hurt the ones closest to you. We commend you."

Buffy looked over at Angel and smiled slightly, and they found themselves back in the hotel. Angel took a breath and gathered Buffy into his arms, hugging her. She rested her head on his chest, and listened to his heartbeat.

"You're alive."


	8. Not Shootin' Blanks Anymore

**(Mini fic. Kinda like an interlude before the introduction of Daniel.)**

"..And now, he's human."

"So human that he got you pregnant?"

Willow smiled as Buffy blushed a fierce red color.

"Yes, that human. He's hoping for a boy. And I kinda am too. We have Anne. She's my baby girl. There will be no other."

"True. What will you name him?"

"Daniel Liam. We both liked Daniel, and Liam is Angels..first name."

"I like it. Anne and Daniel."

Willow and Buffy shared a smile as they sat in the lobby of the Hyperion hotel, watching Anne play with her toys.

"So when are you due?"

"Not for about...six months. I found out late."

"What does Anne think about it?"

"She's excited..for the most part. She definitely doesn't want another girl around. She made that perfectly clear."

"I don't blame her. She's the apple of daddy's eye. And she's got him wrapped around her little finger."

"True. He spoils her so much. He just bought her a princess tent...Its big enough for us to live in."

They laughed, shaking their heads.

"If you have a boy, he's going to be the mama's boy. Daddy's little girl, and mama's boy. Then you'll have the perfect family."

"Yeah, as long as Anne doesn't start acting like her father."

"How do you mean?"

"All possessive like. 'No, she was my mommy first!' 'No, daddy loves me more!' that kind of thing."

"Oh, yeah. If she got any of her personality from him, it'd be that."

"Everything else is all me, so I guess that's fair."

"Isn't that the truth. She's a mini-you."

"You got that right. Watch this. Anne! Come here!"

Buffy called her daughter over to where they two girls were sitting. Anne looked up and then stood, walking over to her mother with Piggy at her side.

"What's the what, mommy?"

"See? What'd I tell you?"

Buffy smiled proudly as she scooped Anne into her arms and kissed her forehead, proud of her baby girl.


	9. Hospital Hostility

"He's beautiful, Buffy."

"He looks just like his daddy. Don't you, sweetheart?"

Buffy cooed to her hour old son as she sat in her hospital bed, holding him. Willow was with her, while Angel was outside with Anne. He had been there for the pregnancy, but it was now time to spend a little while with his daughter.

He sat in the waiting room with her, playing with Piggy and Mr Gordo.

"Daddy, when do I get to see Dan-Dan?"

"Soon, I promise."

"How soon?"

"Very soon."

Anne crawled up on Angel's lap and laid her head on his chest; contently sighing. He knew she'd be asleep soon enough. Stroking Anne's hair, he began to hear a small snore coming from his baby. He smiled, bending his head down and kissing her crown.

"She snores like Buffy does."

Angel looked up, seeing the person he least expected to see.

"You came."

"I wanted to see if Buffy was okay. How Anne was doing. And..to see Daniel."

"I know, that's why I called you."

"Thank you, Angel. I really...owe you a great deal."

"No need, Joyce. You deserve to see your daughter and your grandchildren."

Joyce smiled, somewhat warmly at Angel and turned to Buffys room. Opening the door a crack, she stepped foot in, and the two girls who were busily chatting and laughing away, instantly got quiet. Daniel must have sensed his mothers discomfort, because he started to get fussy in her arms.

"Shh, its okay."

She whispered, kissing his fuzz covered head. She looked back up at her mother with disapproving eyes. She still hadn't forgave her.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you, and my grandchildren."

"You have no right seeing either of my children."

Willow, sensing the tension, stood nervously and looked from Joyce and Buffy.

"I think I'll just go...keep Angel company."

And she ran out, not wanting to be there when the shit hit the fan. They both watched as Willow made her speedy exit, then concentrated on each other again.

"How could you say that, Buffy? Im your mother."

"That doesn't make any difference. Mother or not, you don't have any right to come to me and expect me to drop everything and say 'Mama, hold me. I just had baby number two and Im confused'. No. Its not gonna happen."

"I didn't expect any of that, Buffy. I was just hoping, since...you got pregnant again, we could make up. And try to be the family..that Anne and Daniel need."

"No. The family that Anne and Daniel need, is the family that Anne and Daniel have. Where have you been?"

"Sunnydale. You?"

"The Hyperion hotel with my husband and daughter."

"Husband? You..married Angel?"

"Since I was seventeen, mom. We've just got to make it official now."

"You've got to be kidding, Buffy."

"Oh, passing judgement again?"

"Yes, if that's what you call it. What kind of family are these kids going to have? A 'vampire' for a father and a slayer mother? And who is Daniels father? And Anne's? Riley is both their fathers, isn't he?"

"God, mom, will you please land back down on earth? Riley is dead. Angel killed him. Riley was a demon. Angels human. Riley raped me. Angel made him pay. Riley...molested my little girl. And Angel made him hurt just a little bit more. Got anymore input for me?"

"That cant be true. Riley was such a nice boy.."

"No. Riley was a fake boy. Very, very fake. He didn't father either of my babies. You can live in denial land, but I'd prefer not to. And if you hadn't noticed, Daniel looks just like Angel. And Anne? Spitting image of me, personality of Angel. Now, does that sound like Riley is either of their fathers?"

"..No, I..guess not."

"Well, thanks for dropping by and caring, but I've got more important things to do then discuss the past with you, and that's be with my kids."

"Do you need any help?"

"I think I can handle my five year old and my newborn, mom."

Sighing with defeat, Joyce gave up, figuring it would be useless to continue this now. Without a second glance, she left the room, leaving Buffy with her son.

Daniels eyes were wide open, chocolate brown like his fathers. The few fuzzies on his head were dark, and it already seemed, that he didn't want to be held by anyone but his mother and father. Buffy smiled down at her newborn son, proud of him already. He was perfect in every way, and besides the extreme strength he showed already, he was normal. Anne was still purely normal, but Buffy feared that she'd be a slayer when she got older. She didn't want that for her daughter.

Angel looked up, seeing Joyce walk out of the room.

"How'd it go?"

He asked in a whisper, so he didn't wake up Anne who was sleeping comfortably in his arms.

"Horrible. She hates me."

"I don't believe that, Joyce."

"Me either," piped up Willow.

"Thank you, both, but its true. And she doesn't want me near either Anne or Daniel. Seems I made the trip for nothing."

"That's not true. Don't say that. Wait out here. Im going to go talk to her."

Angel stood, with Anne still in his arms and walked into Buffy's room, knocking softly first.

"Buffy? Can I come in?"

"Angel. Of course."

He smiled and walked in, closing the door softly behind him. Walking over to her bedside, he sat down, looking at both Daniel and Anne.

"He looks just like you, Angel."

"And she looks like you."

"I know. But..that's not why you're here."

"No. Well, yes, but no. Buffy, you should give your mother a chance."

"No, Angel. Not after what she did. The things she said."

"What happened between you?"

"She tried to run my life again. Make my choices. She..tried to make me and Anne stay with Riley."

A low possessive, human growl came from Angel. Buffy reached her hand out and touched his.

"I know, baby. So you do understand how I feel?"

"Yes. But you shouldn't keep her grand kids from her."

"I can do what I want. They are my kids, not hers. She has no right butting in where she isn't needed."

"Is that what this is about?"

"What? What, no? Thats..childish."

"Buffy, your mother isn't trying to raise your kids for you. She just wants to be apart of their lives. I mean, give her some credit. She came all the way from Sunnydale to see if you and the kids were doing okay. Doesn't that show that she cares?"

"No, it shows that she doesn't trust me."

"Buffy, now that just isn't true, and you know it."

"Do I? How do I know she isn't just here to take Anne and Daniel away from me? They're my world. I couldn't bear it if they were taken away."

"Buffy.."

Angel scooted closer to her, seeing the tears in her eyes.

"Why would your mother take them from you?"

"She tried. She tried to take Anne when I gave birth. I was so scared that I ran away, and took Anne with me. When I came back it was Anne's first birthday, and my mother finally gave up. She also wasn't too happy I gave her your last name. She could have sworn on her life that..Riley was her father. She couldn't see past his pretty boy act."

"Im sorry you went through that, baby. I..I wish I was there."

"It doesn't matter now. We're together and nobody will break us apart, right?"

"Right. We're a family."

Behind them, the door of the room opened, revealing Willow, nervously looking at them.

"Hi, guys. How are you both doing?"

"We're fine, Will."

"Yeah, Willow. I straightened everything out."

"Good, well, your mother said she'll be leaving soon, because of..what happened..before."

"Yeah, well, I still cant forgive her yet. Im..not sure I can trust her."

"Tell Joyce to give it time. And also tell her she can stay in the hotel with us."

Buffy tried to speak, but Angel just put his hand gently on her arm, and she silenced.

"No 'buts', Buffy. She's still your mother. And you have to treat her with...somewhat respect."

"Fine. But she cant be alone with either Anne or Daniel."

"Fine. We'll be with her at all times. Willow, you're welcome to stay with us too, if you'd like."

"Thank you, but I've got school in the morning, and I don't think it would be good for me to invade a family reunion."

Buffy smiled slightly at Willows thoughtfulness and nodded.

"Okay, will you call me when you get home?"

"Of course! Dawn was sorry she couldn't be here. Giles too. They said they'll both call you later."

"Ah, its okay. I don't hate them for it. Just get home safe, okay?"

"No problem, Buffy. That I think I can do without any problem."

Both girls smiled and Willow exited the room. Buffy looked over at Angel, looking as if she was going to kill him. Seeing this, he smiled a bit and looked down at Anne.

"You wouldn't attack me and risk hurting our baby."

"That may be. But I can get you later. In bed."

"Hm..sounds...promising."

Buffy shook her head and smirked, while Angel just smiled and looked down at their children. He knew the Hyperion hotel would be a hell hole now that Joyce would be staying with them. What had he gotten them into?


	10. SugarCoated Life Part 1

_**Disclaimer****- I own nothing, but Anne, Daniel and maybe a few others you dont reconize. Please don't sue. I've got nothing to give but the pencil I originally wrote this down with. **_

_**Summary****- Anne is having nightmares and flashbacks about everything that happened to her in Sunnydale. Someone new comes to Los Angeles and shows her everything she ever feared. **_

_**A/U****- Yes, its true, I did infact write this down on paper before writting it on my laptop, and the truth is, it took damn long. **_

_**A/U 2****- I took Annes relationship with all of the characters in a completely different direction in the story. Almost everyones relationships are becoming tense—except for Buffy and Angels. **_

_**Pairings****- B/A, (The rest are implied) B/R, B/S, W/T, W/X, X/A, X/C, C/D, C/A, A/D, and some others. Buffy and her mothers relationship is also threatened throughout the story. Be warned, Buffyverse as we all know it may be destroyed. ****-gasp- **_

_**A/N 3****- Flashbacks are always written in Italic, the t.v is written in Bold Italic, and thoughts are written with ' ' not "" or . Dont worry, you wont be confused. **_

Buffy looked in on her sleeping daughter, knowing Angel was looking in on Daniel, although she knew she'd go in to check on him later anyway. Smiling, she walked into her daughters room, loving how cute she looked curled up next to Piggy and Mr Gordo. Buffy walked over to her sleeping baby, stroking her hair. Buffy smiled at the little snore that came from her sleeping child–it was identical to hers, although she'd never admit it.

"I love you, Anne."

Buffy whispered, kissing Annes forehead. Anne stirred a bit, but Buffy just shushed her, soothing her. Buffy knew that most of the time, Anne needed to be assured of who she was with and where she was when she was sleeping. Buffy only figured it as because what happened to them back in Sunnydale.

Buffy was convinced it was all her fault. She should have protected her daughter better. She failed...miserably. She knew Anne didn't blame her. Anne didn't understand the situation enough to blame her. Buffy felt hot tears threatening to sill at the though of everything that happened. Anne watched Riley rape Buffy, she was abused by him in more then one way, and knew all along Angel was her father.

After all that, why didn't she say something?

Riley. That was the key word. He probably threatened her. Or threatened to hurt her family–especially her mommy and the daddy she didn't know. Riley knew Angel and he had to have known deep inside that Anne was far from being his daughter. And god knows what happened when she died. He was with Anne for months at a time, alone, and nobody had any right saying anything about it. Except Buffy; but her death prevented her from speaking.

But then she came back and baby Anne was no less normal then usual–but slept with her mother for months after that. Buffy figured it was because she missed her–not that she was complaining. Buffy spent most of her time crying and watching Anne anyway, so just that someone was grateful about her being alive again without the reason being slaying.

Her thoughts were wandering too far from what they started as, and frankly, her head hurt.

Standing from Anne's bed, Buffy bent down once more to put a kiss on Anne's forehead, then turned around and walked out of her room, closing the door silently behind her.

Anne drowsily opened her eyes, slightly clutching Piggy and Mr Gordo closer to herself.

"Mommy?"

She whispered tearfully, rubbing her eyes. She heard her mother breathing heavily outside her door and knew what she was doing.

Crying.

So many nights Anne heard Buffy crying, especially after Riley came over. At the thought of him, she cried, pushing her face into the pillow to silence herself. Twenty minutes of crying, she was fast asleep.

-+-+-+-+

Anne woke up at 6:30 in the morning with a start, Piggy and Mr Gordo dropping to the floor. She couldn't remember what caused her to wake up like that but it could have been one of a few things.

Either the pointy teeth men.

Or Riley.

Or Riley as a pointy teeth man.

Sighing softly, she got up and slid off her bed, picking up both stuffed pigs in the process. Sneaking out of her room as quietly as she could, she made her way up to the lobby of the hotel. Angel put a t.v in almost every room for his daughter–spoiled her royally. Buffy wasn't exactly pleased about that but couldn't stop him either. Anne was his little girl and when it came to her, he was unstoppable.

In the lobby, Anne walked over to the tv and put it on. "South Park" was on, an episode Anne had seen before. She liked watching "South Park", but wasn't allowed to watch it at all because her mother told her it was a 'Bad show'. And her grandmother told her she was very naughty for watching it, and that caused a huge fight between Buffy and Joyce that even Angel was too nervous to intervene.

"The Wacky Molestation Adventure" episode was on, one that Anne remembered completely.

-+-+-+-+

"_**Well, you could make them go away for a while. I mean, you could call the police and have them take your parents away."**_

"_**The police?"**_

"_**Yeah, I saw it on t.v. All you have to do is call the police and say both your parents 'molestered' you." **_

"_**What's that?"**_

"_**I don't know, but it works. When I wanted to get rid of my moms last boyfriend, I just called the police and said that he was 'molestering' me and I haven't seen him in three months."**_

"_**Wow–Three months without parents."**_

"_**But what do the police do to them?"**_

"_**Who cares? My parents deserve whatever they get! They're liars and cheats!"**_

"_**But you have to make it convincing, though. When you call the police, you have to be like, 'My parents molestered me!'"**_

"_**My parents molestered me."**_

"_**No, but you gotta cry like this.." Cartman began to whimper. "'My parents molestered me.' And then they'll say something like 'was it a good touch or a bad touch?' and you say it was a good touch. No wait, you say it was a bad touch."**_

"_**What's bad touch?"**_

"_**Something about a swimsuit, I don't remember. But you definitely answer 'Bad touch'." **_

"_**Okay, molestered–bad touch."**_

"_**Yeah, and cry."**_

_**Kyle begins to wail.**_

"_**Oh, he's ready."**_

_Anne blinked, staring at the t.v, remembering what Stan, Kyle, and Cartman were talking about. She didn't understand what 'molstered' meant, but if it got rid of Riley, like Cartman said it would, she'd do it._

_Picking up the phone, she dialed 911 and waited._

"_911, what is your emergency?"_

"_Mama's Riley 'molestered' me. Take him bye-bye."_

"_How old are you, little girl? Where do you live?"_

"_Rovello Drive. And I am three. Can you please make him go bye?"_

"_What did he do?"_

"'_Molestered' me." _

"_There are officers coming to your house."_

"_Are they- -."_

"_Who is that?"_

_Riley walked over to Anne and snatched the phone out of her hand, but the police had already tracked the phone call and were already on their way._

"_Who were you talking to?," he yelled._

"_Police."_

_Anne was scared–knowing just how Riley got when he was angry. _

"_Hello?," the operator called out, hearing Riley shouting._

_Riley slammed the phone down and Anne ran for Buffys room at top speed. Riley ran after her, catching her at the top of the stairs. Screaming, she tried to get away; squirming and struggling. Downstairs, sirens approached the Summers residence._

_Willow and Buffy ran out of her room, hearing the screaming and now, sirens._

"_Riley!"_

_Buffy screamed, seeing red at the sight of him hurting her daughter–or attempting to. Running up to them, she grabbed Anne, taking her from his hands. For once, she didn't have to throw death threats at Riley to get him to release Anne from his death grip._

"_Police! Open up!"_

_Willow passed the trio, and went down the stairs to get the door. Buffy could hear the t.v going on in the living room–Cartmans voice screaming 'Outlander! We have your woman, Outlander!' But at that moment, she didn't care. Anne was shaking and crying in her arms. And how did the cops know to come? Did Anne call them? Was that why Riley was so angry?_

_Willow opened the door and the cops came in; a woman and two men–backup waiting outside._

"_We got a 911 call from this residence. That a little girl called saying she was being molested. We're going to need to investigate the matter." _

_The two men walked up the steps to Riley._

"_Are you Riley?" They got his name from the phone call._

"_Yeah."_

"_You'll have to come with us."_

_When the two men escorted Riley out, it was the woman's turn to intervene_. _She walked up the stairs, seeing that the child was terribly frightened. _

"_Ma'am, are you and the child alright?"_

_Buffy shook her head numbly._

"_No."_

"_Then you should come down to the station and make a report."_

"_I cant."_

"_Why not?"_

"_He might..."_

"_We'll protect you both."_

"_I cant." _

-+-+-+-+

"_**My parents 'molestered' me- -."**_

Anne shut the t.v off and looked at the VCR players clock: 7am. With a yawn, she grabbed the pigs and made her way down to her parents bedroom.

"Mama?"

She called out to the darkness. Realizing her parents were asleep, she tip-toed to their bed and crawled in, finding a spot between her mother and father that would have had been impossible to find if she wasn't so small. Snuggling in between the two, she relaxed, but felt that something was wrong. Daddy felt...cold. And mommy felt weird. Sitting up and pushing her parents apart, her eyes adjusted to the darkness, seeing her mother tied to the bed. She moved back, only to hit the body of her father–but he didn't move. Moving away from them both, a shadow came from behind her, appearing from the doorway.

"Dan-Dan."

She whispered, seeing the man holding him. The lights flicked on and in front of her eyes, her brother was just a bundle on the ground. She looked back at her mother, hearing her trying to scream. Another turn she came face to face with her nightmare.

Riley.

-+-+-+-+

Anne screamed at the top of her lungs as she was being shaken awake by her grandmother. Anne was curled up on the floor in front of the t.v, "South Park" still flashing on the screen. Buffy rushed up from her bedroom, seeing her mother hovering over her screaming baby. Pushing her mother out of the way, none too gently, she picked Anne up, cradling her in her arms.

"Baby, its okay. Mommy's here."

She whispered to her, hoping it would calm her some. Anne clutched onto Buffy, still half asleep. Joyce just looked on, half amazed, half offended seeing what was going on in front of her. Didn't Buffy trust her enough to take care of Anne? No, she was still angry at her. It was Angels idea to let her stay there, not her daughters. She was pretty angry about that.

"Anne? Anne, baby? Tell mommy what happened."

"Dream...bad...R-R..."

She cried, looking up at her mother.

"He...came back," she whispered.

Buffy shook her head, intending on telling Anne, and convincing her also, that Riley was gone. He was gone forever and wasn't coming back.

"No, baby. He didn't come back and he wont ever come back. You're safe, and I'm safe. You don't have to worry about him anymore."

"But he did. I re--"

She looked from her mother to the t.v.

All the parents were being taken away.

Buffy walked over to the t.v, with Anne still in her arms, and shut it. Looking over at her mother, she glared slightly, and then turned to head downstairs, making sure she didn't forget Piggy and Mr Gordo, because if she did, she knew there'd be hell to pay.

Joyce didn't know why she was just glared at, but she intended on finding out. She followed Buffy as she made her way downstairs, knowing she was headed down to her and Angels bedroom. When Buffy walked into the bedroom with Anne, Angel was sitting up on the bed waiting for them. He knew once Buffy took a beeline towards the other room, that the situation was one that Buffy wanted to handle herself, so he had checked on Daniel before returning to their room.

Buffy sat down with Anne, and put her in between both herself and Angel, so she would feel safer. Buffy looked to the door of the room, seeing her mother standing there.

"What do you want?"  
"Buffy..."

At the tone of her voice, Angel knew she was upset, so he was hoping that he might be able to calm her down. But even though he called her name she ignored him. She was waiting for an answer from her mother. Anne, knowing her mother was upset for more then one reason, curled up next to her father, causing him to slightly forget the task at hand and hold Anne closer to him.

"I said, what do you want?"  
"I just wanted to talk to you."  
"Cant it wait?"  
"No."

Buffy sighed frustratedly and looked back at Anne, stroking her hair.

"Are you going to be okay, baby?" 

Anne nodded and snuggled closer to Angel. Buffy smiled at her soon-to-be husband and then stood from the bed, walking past her mother and going upstairs. She didn't want to wake up Daniel or make a scene in front of Anne.

They walked into the lobby, away from the downstairs bedrooms.

"Well?"  
"Why are you doing this to me? Isolating me from Anne and Daniels lives?"  
"Because you don't belong in their lives."  
"Why do you feel like that? Why are you so cold towards me?"  
"Why do you act like just because you're my mother you have special rights to my children?"

"I'm their grandmother. I deserve to know them."  
"No you don't! Not after five years of mistakes!"

"I didn't make any mistakes. You did! Having Anne was a mistake, leaving for a year was a mistake—shall I go on?"

Now, Buffy's blood was boiling.

"Having Anne was a mistake?," she growled out.

Joyce was now less confident then before. As a matter of fact, she was about to hide in a darkened corner of the room at Buffy's tone.

"Thats not what I meant, Buffy."  
"No, I think thats exactly what you meant."  
"Buffy, please, I didn't..."  
"No! You did! People don't just go around saying things they don't mean. You think she's a mistake. Why? Because I was so young? Or was it because I left when you told me you were going to take her away from me? Which was it, _mom_?"

"I thought you were throwing your life away. Then you announce you're going to be with Riley when she doesn't even have his last name, I thought that was a bit foolish."  
"Who cares what you think? And I never announced I was going to be with him. He just pushed himself into our life, and he had you believing all his goody-two shoes lies. Shows how much you know."  
"How was I supposed to know he was bad, Buffy? How? I don't have the senses that you have--"

"Oh, so now thats a valid excuse? I told you when I saw you after coming back with Anne that he wasn't good, that I didn't want to be with him, but you kept on pushing; 'Hes such a good boy, Buffy, and he really seems to care about you. Are you going to deprive Anne of a father?' Obviously, Anne was better off without a father—the life I had thought and planned out was best, but you insisted. _You _had to butt into our lives, and guess what, mom? He is the one that hurt my daughter and one of my good friends. Let alone him raping me and making sure Anne watched. Does that sound like a 'good boy' to you, _mom?"_

"Mommy?"

Buffy turned around, hearing Anne's small voice from the hallway. She was standing there with just Piggy in her arms, looking smaller then she actually was. Buffy's eyes softened at the sight of her, and she kneeled down, holding her arms out to her. Anne walked right to her, burying her face in her neck when she reached her.

"Whats wrong, baby?"  
"Daddy went to see Dan-Dan, he was crying. I wanted to stay with you."

"Oh, okay. Now, we can go back with daddy in the bedroom. Mommy is done talking to grandma."  
"Mommy?"

"What, princess?"  
"Was I a very bad mistake? Do you hate me?"

Buffy's heart broke into tiny little pieces at her words. She had heard the conversation. Holding her at arms length so she could look into her eyes, she shook her head.

"No, Anne, you're no mistake. You're the best thing that ever happened to me. And I don't hate you. I could _never_ hate you. I will always love you, do you understand me?"

Anne nodded and hugged her mother again, needing her love and comfort. Buffy sniffled and hugged her daughter, knowing she was going through a lot and the only thing she could do for her was be there. She couldn't erase the past and if she could, she was get rid of the fact that she ever looked at Riley. _Ever_. She picked up Anne and turned to face her mother again—she was even more scared in appearance then before. She knew Buffy would kill her because of what was said about Anne.

"You better be gone by tomorrow afternoon. I don't ever want to see you here again—or near either of my children."

And with that, she turned her back on her and walked back down to the bedrooms.


	11. SugarCoated Life Part 2

_**This is the continuation of "Sugar-Coated Life Part 1". And in this story, Doyle is alive. Yes, living. I like him and what I don't like is him dead. It makes me sad. And I'm actually thinking about making this Anne's little series. Its getting to be longer then I expected, and its developing a story of its own. The imagination is an evil creature...**_

_'Having Anne was a mistake, leaving for a year was a mistake—shall I go on?'_

_'You're the best thing that ever happened to me'_

_'You think she's a mistake. Why?'_

Buffy walked with Anne in her arms all the way back down to her and Angel's bedroom. Angel had Daniel in his arms, trying to get him to calm down and go to sleep, but he just kept crying. Once Buffy and Anne came into the room, Daniel quieted down, obviously feeling better that his mommy and his sister were okay and with him. Buffy sat down with Anne in her arms, rocking her slightly. Daniel and Angel both watched intently as she laid down, not letting go of her for a minute. Anne turned her head, looking at her mother then at her father and brother. When Daniel saw Anne looking at him, he smiled and reached for her. She smiled and reached out a hand to him, and he took it gladly.

Angel smiled, watching his children interact without any words spoken at all. But what was bothering him was how Buffy was acting. She just laid there, holding Anne, almost as if she was hiding some big hurt inside. He'd have to speak to her about it; he wasn't letting it go.

It took maybe two or three hours to get both kids to sleep. Daniel fell asleep first, and Angel put him back in his crib. Then Anne fell asleep, still tangled up in Buffy's arms. Buffy seemed to be wide awake, even with both kids sleeping. Angel figured it would be best to speak to her about whatever was bothering her at that moment.

"Buffy? Are you okay?"

She looked up at him, then down at Anne. Shaking her head, she sniffled softly.

"No. I'm not."

He moved closer to her, laying right down next to her.

"What happened?"  
"My mother. She...she said things about Anne, and Anne heard her. Now Anne thinks that I hate her."  
"What did she say? Surely she didn't mean it."  
"She did, Angel. She said she thought me having Anne was a mistake. And now thats what Anne thinks. She thinks she was and is a mistake. I tried telling her otherwise but..."

"You don't really think that way, do you?"

"Angel...how could you even ask that? Shes my everything. The only mistake was that I let Riley into our lives."  
"I know. But the bigger mistake was that I left you in the first place."  
"Finally, you admit it."

She smiled, only teasing him. He smiled too, knowing that she liked poking fun at him and his decisions. Buffy looked down at Anne, who was snuggled up close her her, holding onto her shirt. Buffy ran her fingers through Anne's brown locks, upset that she actually thought she was a mistake. She hated her mother for making Anne think that. Another mistake was trying to trust her mother again.

-+-+-+-+-+

By time Buffy woke up, Anne was missing from her arms. She sat up and looked around for her, but spotted her in Angels arms. Daniel also found a spot in his fathers arms. How did he sleep while holding both kids? She'd never know.

Standing from the bed, she stretched and made her way into the lobby. All of her mothers belongings were sitting in the middle of the room, and she was standing by the door, drinking a cup of coffee.

"What are you still doing here?"  
"I have no way to get back to Sunnydale. I need a ride."  
"Theres something called a bus, mom. Use it."  
"I can't bring all these things on the bus."  
"Yes you can."  
"Buffy-"  
"Look, mom, I'm not having Angel drive you back. As a matter of fact, he's inside sleeping with both kids. He's had enough. I guess you're out of luck."  
"You can drive me."

Buffy stared at her mother a second and scoffed.

"Now you're pushing your luck."

"Do you want me gone?" 

She looked back at her, seeing, not only the sorrow, but the anger in her mothers eyes. She was done with her.

"Let me get dressed."

-+-+-+-+-+

Daniel woke up an hour or two later, gurgling happily. Seeing his sister right next to him, he reached for her, grabbing her hair and pulling.

"Ow, ow..ow.." 

She mumbled, waking up slowly. She opened her eyes and saw Daniel tugging on her hair, smiling. She took his hand and untangled her hair from his hand and smiled.

"Hi, Dan-Dan."

She looked up and saw her father still sleeping, then looked to their mothers side of the bed, and saw her not there any longer.

"Mama?" 

She called out quietly. Crawling from her fathers arms, she stood, heading upstairs to look for her when she heard Daniel whining.

"Dan-Dan, I'll be right back. Stay with Daddy."

But he just whined louder.

"Okay, okay."

Walking back over to them, she picked him up carefully, finding he had gotten lighter since last time she picked him up. Shrugging, she carried him upstairs and walked around the lobby with him.

"Mommy?"

She called out again, not seeing her, or hearing any response. Looking to Daniel, she saw that he was beginning to get fussy again. His senses were better then hers, so he could tell when something was wrong. She held him closer to try and tell him it was okay, but truthfully, she was scared too.

What if Riley came back? 

What if...he took mommy?

Anne walked Daniel over to his swing and put him in, strapping him inside securely. She had to figure out what to do. Looking around, she began to cry, having no clue how to find her mother or what to do first. Once Daniel realized Anne was crying, he began to wail. Anne dropped down, sitting on the floor in front of his swing, crying loudly herself. What would they do without mommy?

-+-+-+-+-+

_From where Anne was playing with Piggy on the couch, she could hear the door opening. _

_'Please let it be grandma and aunt Dawn coming home, please.'_

_But it wasn't. She knew it wouldn't be. Before the door opened, she ran to the kitchen, where her mother was making dinner. _

_'Mommy will protect me.' _

"_Mama, mama," Anne called as she ran into the kitchen, hiding behind her mothers legs. _

_Buffy looked down at her and put down the knife she was using. Kneeling down, she looked at Anne, checking for bumps, bruises, or bleeding, but found nothing. _

"_Anne, whats wrong?"  
"Door.." _

_Buffy looked, hearing it opening. She took a deep breath and looked back at Anne, knowing she was scared, and knowing who it was at the door. Luckily, Spike was already at the house, they had nothing to worry about. Right? _

"_Buffy!" _

_Riley yelled as he walked into the house, slamming the door loudly behind him. Anne almost started crying at the sound of his voice. Still on her knees, Buffy looked over at Spike, who was by the door smoking a cigarette. He put it out and waited for Buffy's command. _

"_Baby, go with uncle Spike. He'll protect you."  
"No, what about you, mama?" _

_She cried, holding onto her shoulders tighter. Buffy patted her back, knowing she was getting more scared by the moment. _

"_Mommy will be fine, just go with uncle Spike." _

"_But.."  
"Please, for mommy?"_

_Anne's lower lips stuck out and quivered, and Buffy could only stifle a sob. Kissing her forehead, Spike walked over to them, and picked Anne up. _

"_Come on, niblet. It'll be okay." _

"_No, uncle Spike, what about mommy?"  
"Mommy can take care of herself, now I have to take care of you."_

_He carried her down to the basement, the safest place for her while Riley was in the house. He put her down and she went to the small cot that was down there and sat. Spike stayed by the door and listened to what was going on upstairs. If he was needed, he would run up and show Riley to the door. _

_Anne knew her mother wasn't safe. She wasn't safe and she wouldn't let anyone help her. _

_Riley stomped his way into the kitchen where he found Buffy washing her hands in the sink. _

"_Why didn't you answer when I called your name?"  
"I...I didn't hear you. I was busy."  
"That's a lie." _

_He looked around._

_  
"Wheres Anne?"  
"With Spike."  
"Why?"  
"She wanted to spend some time with her uncle."  
"Hes not her uncle."  
"You're not her father."_

_She knew she shouldn't have said that, but before she knew it, his hand connected with her face in a painful slap, pushing her against the sink. She gasped at the hit, not expecting it in the least. He stomped over to her and grabbed her by her arms, shaking her slightly. _

"_Never, ever disrespect me again. Do you hear? Or you'll leave me no choice and I'll have to punish Anne for your wrong doings." _

_Buffy couldn't let that happen. She couldn't let him hurt Anne because she 'disrespected' him. She shook her head, signaling that she didn't want anything to happen to her baby. _

"_Good girl."_

_-+-+-+-+_

_Buffy had catered to Riley for hours before she knew he wouldn't be a problem; asleep on the couch. Spike and Anne came from the basement, and Buffy tucked her into bed. Once she made sure Anne was safe and asleep, she met Spike in the kitchen._

"_What'd that bastard do to you this time?"  
"Nothing, Spike. Don't worry about it."  
"How can I not? Now he's threatening Anne. If this doesn't stop, I'm gonna tell the poof." _

"_Spike, you better not." _

"_Why the bloody hell not? Maybe he can help you. Save you both."  
"How can I ask that of him? Just go up to him and say 'Hi, we have a daughter together. How are you?' No, it doesn't work that way." _

"_Well, it could. Do you realize you're putting Anne in danger?" _

_-+-+-+-+_

_Riley could hear Buffy and Spike talking in the kitchen. He'd have to get rid of that meddling chip-head vampire; he was becoming a __n__uisance. But he would take care of him later. Now, he had tinier fish to fry. Quietly, yet as quickly as possible, he crept upstairs, making his way to Anne's room. The hallway was quiet, which meant that Buffy's mother and sister were either out, or sleeping already. _

_Good. _

_Creeping in slowly into Anne's room, he saw her sleeping, with those two damn pigs. No matter, he'd just toss them off the bed. Walking over to her beside, he sat down next to her, and pulled the blanket down. Smirking, he shook her slightly, to wake her. _

"_Anne, wake up."  
_

_She opened her eyes and then closed them again tightly. _

"_Anne!" _

_He whispered harshly, which caused her to open her eyes again once more. Once he was convinced that she was paying attention, he smirked. _

_  
"Get undressed. You know the rules."  
"But..I don't want to.." _

"_Why not? I thought it was a fun game. Its fun for me." _

"_But..it hurts. I don't want to."_

"_But you have to. Don't you remember what happens when you don't play?"_

She nodded.

"_Tell me what happens." _

"_You hurt mommy."   
"Thats right. I hurt mommy and whose fault will it be?"  
"Mine." _

She cried, not liking the fact that she was being forced to play Riley's game. 

"_Now.." He stroked the hair from her face. "Get undressed." _

_-+-+-+-+_

Angel ran up the steps hearing both of his kids crying hysterically. Upon reaching the lobby, he saw Anne on the floor and Daniel in his swing. His first instinct was to go to Anne. Rushing up to her he kneeled next to her, brushing the hair from her face.

"Whats wrong, baby?"

She screamed, momentarily forgetting where she was or who she was with. She was so worried about her mother being taken by Riley, that she didn't realize her father was in the room trying to talk to her. When she opened her eyes and looked at him, she buried her face in his chest, crying uncontrollably. He was officially lost.

-+-+-+-+

Buffy walked in hours later, to find the hotel looking like a tornado went through it. She walked, wide-eyed until she reached the downstairs bedrooms. Doyle was sitting with Daniel, trying to get him to calm down, and Angel was with Anne, trying to talk to her. Buffy had absolutely no clue what was going on.

"Angel? What happened?"

Angel and Doyle both looked up at her. Doyle stood and walked over to her, handing her, her crying son.

"Here, I don't know what the tyke needs. He's been crying for hours straight."  
"So has Anne."

"What happened?"

She asked as she began rocking Daniel, which didn't stop his cries, unlike the night before that only required her presence to silence him. She didn't understand, or know, what could be bothering not only one, but both of her children. Sitting next to Angel, she looked at Anne, seeing her crying hysterically also. She didn't even realize her mother came home; she was crying so hard. Balancing Daniel in one arm, she used her other to rub Anne's arm, to let her know she was there.

"Anne, baby? Are you okay?"

At the sound of her voice her eyes shot open, and she turned over and looked at her. She was so happy to see that her mother was back, and okay, and not taken by Riley.

"Mama!"

She cried out, unlatching herself from Angel and attaching herself to Buffy. Daniel suddenly quieted down, obviously feeling Anne's relief. Buffy looked from Anne to Angel, and handed Daniel to him. Angel knew Buffy was going to talk to Anne, and they needed privacy to do it. Standing with Daniel, he escorted Doyle out of the room, bringing him to the lobby so they could both get their more then deserved drinks.

Buffy picked up Anne and held her as she cried. Maybe Willow was wrong. Maybe Anne was mommy's little princess and Daniel was daddy's little man? It didn't matter, it was obvious that each child both liked the parent as the same sex as them.

When Anne finally began to relax, Buffy stroked her hair and rocked her, knowing that was soothing to any child. But she was going to get to the bottom of this. Anne couldn't keep living like she did. Sitting her daughter on her lap, she looked down at her, seeing exhaustion and fear plastered all over her face. She had to take care of this now.

"Anne? Why were you crying?"  
"You...were gone. I was..scared.."  
"Why? What did you think happened?"

"I thought that...Riley..."

"Baby, Riley is dead. Very dead and very gone. You don't have to worry anymore. He can't hurt us."

"But..I...he.."

"No, he's gone. Forever."

"No, no, no, he's not gone. No."

She was shaking in fear and Buffy knew that she wasn't going to get anywhere like this. She couldn't. There was no way to convince her that Riley was dead, gone, and rotting. Buffy knew it was hard. She knew it was even harder for Anne because she was so young, and still so scared. With Buffy she had the occasional nightmare, then try to deal. With Anne it was painful and it was everyday. She wasn't sure what to do for her anymore.

"How about you take a nap? You'll feel better after you get some sleep."

Buffy wiped away her daughters tears, just to find her already sleeping. Sighing, she lifted her off her lap and laid her on the bed. She did need a good nap. After tucking her in and kissing her forehead, she left the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

She made her way into the lobby to find Angel playing the video games he had recently bought and Daniel sitting on his lap, gnawing on a stuffed dog. Angel had no clue how to play any form of games but insisted on buying them so he could know more about technology. Turns out two-hundred and fifty some odd years on earth didn't help him at all in the gaming department. Walking up behind him, she tapped on his shoulder, wanting his attention. He paused the game and looked at her.

"Wheres Doyle?"  
"He left. Hows Anne?"  
"Asleep. But...shes not doing too good."  
"Why was she crying? Did she tell you why?"  
"Because I was gone. She thought Riley kidnapped me."

"If he wasn't dead, I would have thought the same thing. By the way, where were you?"  
"Driving my mother back to Sunnydale. God, what a mistake."  
"What happened?"  
"Don't ask. I was just happy to get out of there. But now we're off topic."

"Sorry, Anne."

"Yeah, well, she's convinced he's still alive and he's going to come back for us."

Angel looked away and put his pensive look on. Buffy didn't like that look at all.

"Angel?"  
"What?"  
"Whats with that look?"  
"Nothing. Well, I mean, he _was_ a demon."  
"No, not you too. Not all demons come back to life. Don't start."  
"Oh, well, I was just saying.."  
"Don't just say."

She sighed, looking down at her hands.

"I think we should send her to a doctor."  
"A doctor?"  
"Yeah, like a therapist?"  
"Oh, well, I guess. If you think its best I guess its worth a try."

"Yeah, its our last resort. Nothing else is working."

He looked at Buffy, then at Daniel, then back at Buffy, who was just staring at him. He sighed, and then looked down at his game controller.

"Can I save first?"


	12. SugarCoated Life Part 3

Buffy unbuckled Anne's car seat and lifted her up out of the car. Closing the door with her hip, she fixed her purse on her shoulder and held Anne up. Locking the car door, she walked with her inside the building that matched the address on the paper she had. Anne held onto Buffy's neck, not knowing where they were going or what was going on. But the one thing she did know, was that she was getting a bad feeling about this.

Looking around as they walked in, Anne saw other kids there, but they didn't seem happy either. There were adults too, but they looked scary. Anne hid her face in the crook of Buffy's neck as they approached the receptionists desk.

"Name?"  
"Summers, Buffy and Anne."

"The doctor will be with you shortly."  
"Thank you."

Buffy smiled and sat down with Anne right next to another young girl and her mother. The little girl saw Anne and smiled, crawling over her mothers lap to see her.

"Hi," she said, and Anne only turned her head to face her, nothing more.

Buffy looked and smiled at the little girl who spoke to Anne. Buffy looked at Anne, wondering why she wasn't saying anything. The mother turned her head and smiled.

"Sorry, Isabelle gets a little hyper sometimes. But she loves meeting new people."

Buffy smiled and rubbed Anne's back.

"Anne is a very quiet little girl. She never really met any children her age. She's always so shy."

"Does she take after you? I see you look a lot alike. Actually, the resemblance is...remarkable. "

Buffy laughed softly, stroking her daughters brunette locks.

"No, she gets her shyness from her daddy. But the looks are all me. Well, mostly. Her hair and her eyes are Angels, and half of her personality comes from him. Her little brother looks more like him then she does."  
"Oh, so you have two children?"  
"Yeah, Anne and Daniel. Daniel is three months and Anne is going on six."  
"How precious. Isabelle is going on seven and I also have twins that just turned three."  
"Aw, it sounds like you have a really great family."  
"Yeah, you too, though. What brings you here though, if you don't mind me prying."

Buffy did mind, just a bit, but she figured if she didn't give away too much information, there wouldn't be much of a problem.

"We've been through a lot the past...five years. Its taken its toll on us."  
"Oh, I'm sorry. My daughter had quite a lot happen. And only this year."  
"Oh? Do you mind me asking..."  
"No, I don't mind. See, I was dating someone for years before he moved to a place called Sunnydale. After that, I found out I was pregnant. He didn't want to come back because he had just enrolled in a University he liked, and had a new girlfriend. So all I asked of him was child support and frequent letters or calls just so we could update each other. Well, one day he calls and says his girlfriend ran away and took their baby with her. He was distraught. A year later, I get another call saying she returned, and her daughter was with her. He was happy, for the most part, but then he just sounded crazy on the phone because the little girl didn't look like him. And then after that, all I got from him was money, nothing more. But then, a few months ago, we got another letter, telling us to move to Los Angeles, that he had an apartment for us and everything. When we finally get here, he's dead. Murdered apparently, and it was said that the police were after him for a number of charges."

Buffy looked, wide-eyed at the woman, then looked down at Anne, who was quite wide-eyed herself. This woman was talking about Riley!

"Izzy, does this look like the girl and lady in the picture daddy sent us?"  
"Yes."

The little girl answered without looking up from the doll she took from her mothers bag. Buffy looked down at Anne, and held her closer. What were these two smoking? The little girl tugged on Anne's arm, looking up at her.

"Your daddy killed my daddy!"

-+-+-+-+

"Oh? Do you mind me asking...?"  
"No, I don't mind. See, we just moved here from New York, needing a new change of scenery. Isabelle's grandma died a few months ago and she took it pretty hard. Then, Floppo, her dog died, and she was just a mess, so thats why we're--"

Anne started screaming in Buffy's arms, making everyone stop what they were doing and stare at them both. Buffy held Anne, so she wouldn't fall off her lap, and then tried to wake her up. She was obviously having a nightmare again.

"Anne, its okay. Mommy's here, Anne."

When Anne finally stopped screaming, she just cried. Buffy rubbed her back and looked apologetically to the woman next to her.

"Excuse me."

Buffy lifted Anne up and walked over to the receptionists desk.

"Wheres the bathroom?"

The woman pointed to a door at the end of the hall, and Buffy nodded her thanks as she made her way down the hall. Once she reached the bathroom, she walked in with Anne and closed the door, locking it. She sat Anne down on the sink and turned on the water. Getting a paper towel, she wet it and began wiping Anne's face, knowing not only was she half asleep, but she was scared, so she'd be sweating.

"Anne? Are you okay?"

She nodded, breathing heavily.

"What did you dream?"  
"Them."

She gestured to the waiting room. It took Buffy a minute to understand what she was talking about.

"Isabelle and her mommy?"  
"Yeah."  
"What about them?"  
"Isabelle's daddy was.."

"Oh.."

Buffy threw the paper towel away and scooped Anne up into her arms. She sat down with her on the toilet seat, letting her calm down before taking her back outside.

"Its going to be okay. I promise. Everything's going to get better for us. For you. I promise."

She kissed her forehead and tried her best to smile, just to give her a sense of security. Anne smiled slightly and Buffy picked her up, and headed out of the bedroom. They headed out into the waiting room and the doctor came out, looking around.

"Summers."

"Uh..present."

Buffy smiled slightly and walked up to him, holding Anne still. She knew this would be difficult, because he was a man. Anne didn't trust many men, and she wasn't sure if she was going to open up to this one. He gestured for them to follow him into the room and Buffy followed. Closing the door behind the two, the doctor pointed to the two chairs for them to sit in.

Anne refused to let go of Buffy.

Buffy sat down in one of the chairs and the doctor sat across from her.

"I am doctor Stanley Nylund. You can call me Stan. You must be Buffy. And the little one, Anne, correct?"  
"Yes, thats right."  
"So tell me...Anne. Why are you here?"

Anne didn't answer.

"Anne? Can you hear me?"

"Yes."  
"Do you know why you're here?"  
"No."

"Okay, then. Buffy, why are you here?"  
"She's...we've had a lot happen to us the past couple years."  
"Like what?"  
"Um.."  
"Its okay, it will help to talk about it. You'll feel better. Both of you will."

"Okay, um..this guy that I was 'dating' caused a lot of..problems."  
"What kind of problems?"  
"He was abusive."

"How so?"  
"He beat and...forced intercourse on me on more then one occasion."  
"Were there any witnesses?" 

Buffy looked up at him then down at Anne. He got the message.

"What else?"  
"Thats all. To me, at least."

"Anne? What happened with you and..."  
"Riley."  
"...Riley?"

Anne looked up at the doctor after lifting her head from the crook of her mothers neck.

"He hurt me."  
"Really? Why did he want to hurt you?"

Anne looked from the doctor to her mother and shook her head.

"I don't wanna talk, mommy."  
"I know, but it will make you feel better."  
"He said he'd hurt you if I told. I don't want to talk."

"But he cant hurt me anymore. And he cant hurt you either. He's gone."

She just shook her head and hid her face again, obviously unwilling to talk anymore. Buffy sighed and rubbed her back. Her guess was doctors were out of the question too. Nobody could get through to her. She knew that it took time for doctors to get through to people, children especially, but she wasn't even being friendly. Buffy feared it would just be another dead end.

-+-+-+-+

Once they made it back to the hotel, Anne was asleep again. Buffy carried her inside, just to see Angel playing the game again, with Daniel sleeping in his swing. She sighed and walked over to the couch, laying Anne next to Angel.

"What exactly are you playing?"  
"Some..gun game. Halo...something. Two, three? I dunno. But I'm winning."  
"How do you know?" 

An alien blew up and Angel smiled.

"Thats how."

"I see. How long has Danny been sleeping?"  
"An hour, maybe. I fed him and he went right to sleep."  
"Good. Good."  
"How did it go with Anne?"  
"Horrible. The first mention of Riley and she clammed up. Then again, that was the first, and only thing out of his mouth."

"Maybe you should send her to a different doctor. Maybe a children's one?"  
"Maybe. I just don't think she's going to ever open up."  
"Request a woman doctor. They're more understanding with children anyway."  
"Okay, I'll look around, see if I can make another appointment with another doctor this afternoon."

Angel nodded and continued with his game, briefly glancing at Anne from time to time. Pausing his game, he couldn't help but look over at her and smile. She looked so damn innocent, he couldn't believe, even imagine what she was going through. He only wished that Buffy called him when she found out she was pregnant, he wished that he didn't take back the forgotten day, and he wished he killed Riley when he had the chance-back when he first met him. With a soft, frustrated sigh, he bent down and kissed her forehead, then continued diminishing aliens.

-+-+-+-+

"Anne? Anne, wake up, baby."

Buffy shook Anne slightly, just to wake her. She had made the appointment, and she wanted her to eat something before they went. Anne, drowsily, opened her eyes and looked up at her mother. She couldn't help but smile seeing her mother, it being a plus that she didn't have any recent or obvious wounds anywhere.

"Have a good nap, baby?"

Buffy whispered, lifting Anne up and carrying her to the little table she set up for her to eat at. Sitting her down, Buffy then went to the mini-fridge she put Anne's food in and brought it over to her; a bologna and cheese sandwich. Anne looked at it hesitantly, then up at her mother.

"Mama, I don't want this."

"Why not? Do you want something else?"  
"No. I'm not hungry. I feel...icky."  
"Icky?"

Buffy put her hand to Anne's forehead, not feeling an increase in temperature. She looked at her face, not seeing any look of sickness. She wondered what was wrong.

"What is it Anne? Whats wrong?"  
"I dunno, mama. I just feel icky."

"Thats...thats okay. We'll just bring it with us, okay? Just in case you get hungry later."

Later? What did she mean by that? Before Anne could ask, Buffy was wrapping the sandwich in tinfoil and putting it in her bag, then lifting Anne up and carrying her out to the car.

"Where are we going, mama?"

She finally asked.

"Someplace. You may like it."

And Anne left it at that.


	13. You Found It, What Now?

Anne's eyes darted around the brightly colored room; children's characters inhabited the walls, friendly smiles on their faces. Anne found them to be creepy. She only liked one cartoon, and that was 'Beauty and the Beast'. And the pictures on the walls were far from being 'Beauty and the Beast'.

Buffy was sitting with Anne in the waiting room, hoping the doctor would come out sooner then later. Once Buffy saw a woman coming out with her child, she got ready, knowing that they had to be next.

"Anne Summers?"

A female voice called as Buffy stood with Anne. The woman smiled and waved warmly to Anne, and then gestured for them to follow her. Anne smiled when the lady waved, and then hid her head in her mother neck; shy.

When they walked in there was only one chair, and a small one at that. Buffy had spoken to the woman on the phone, and only having the child in the room was recommended and somewhat of a policy. Buffy agreed, but if Anne needed her, she'd be waiting.

It looked like a playroom; toys, dolls, teddy bears, a t.v; everything imaginable was there–to make the child feel comfortable. Anne looked around, keeping her head on her mothers shoulder. It seemed...nice. Buffy put Anne down, and she held her hand, leading her to the chair. Bending down, Buffy brushed a kiss to her forehead and smiled.

"Mommy is going to be back soon. You can stay here and play. She may have 'Beauty and the Beast'"

Buffy whispered the last part and smiled, knowing that would make Anne feel better. Anne smiled and hugged Buffy to her, scared, but not as scared as she usually was.

"But 'Beauty Beast' isn't the same without you, mama."

"I know, but I promise I'll be back soon."

"Swear?"

"Pinky swear, princess."

She smiled and locked her pinky with Anne's then stood, looking to the doctor and smiling. She left the room without another word.

Anne looked around once more, then looked to the small yellow chair. Slowly, she made her way over to it and sat down, needing to examine everything before becoming comfortable.

"So, Anne. How are you today?"

"Im okay."

"Good. My name is Cindy, and...I was wondering if we could be friends."

Anne looked at her suspiciously, a pensive look on her face. But then, the look melted and a small, half smile took over the little girls face. Once Cindy noticed she went to her with the right approach, she continued.

"So now that we're going to be friends, can you tell me what different things you do with your friends"

"I don't have friends. Just mommy, daddy, Dan-Dan, uncle Doyle, uncle Xander, uncle Spike, aunt Dawn, aunt Anya, aunt Willow, aunt Tara, aunt Cordy, grandpa Giles, grandpa Hank, and grandma, who mama is mad at."

"Why is mommy mad at grandma?"

"Because grandma 'has a big mouth and doesn't know how to keep it closed'."

"Really? Who said that?"

"Mommy. She was mad."

"Is she mad at grandma a lot?," Anne nodded.

"Who else is mommy mad at?"

"Well, she used to be mad at grandpa Hank, but then they became friends again."

"Why did they become friends again?," Anne shrugged.

"Well, then tell me about your family."

"There's lots of them," Cindy laughed.

"I know. Do you want to draw a picture so I can see who everyone is?"

Anne smiled, nodding happily. Cindy took a big piece of paper and some crayons out and put them on the floor for Anne to draw with. She got out of the chair and sat on the ground next to the doctor, and began to draw.

"Whose that?," she asked as she pointed to each person Anne drew.

"That's mommy, daddy, me, and Dan-Dan."

"Whose Dan-Dan?"

"Daniel. He's my brother. Mama had him a little while ago. She was happy."

"Of course she was. A baby is a gift."

"Yes. But, mama says I wasn't a gift."

"Why does she say that?"

"Because Im a miracle."

Cindy smiled and watched as Anne finished up her picture, adding a few people and coloring them in. But what baffled her was the black that was behind both Buffy and Anne. What did that mean?

"Anne? How come behind everyone else its sunny and bright, but behind you and your mommy its dark and scary?"

Anne's eyes darkened at the question, and her head lowered as she answered.

"Riley."

"Riley? Whose Riley?"

"The bad man. I don't wanna talk about him. He's bad."

"Okay, its okay. We don't have to talk about him until you're ready too."

Anne looked up at her and smiled slightly again, knowing this wasn't half bad. So she decided to tell her who Riley was.

"Riley is that bad man. He hurt me and mommy. But then...daddy took care of him. And now the bad man is gone..."

She left that sentence hanging, because she wasn't too sure he was gone forever. But everyone else seemed to think so. Cindy stared at the little girl for a while, to see if she was going to say anything more, but she was quiet.

"Did you...did you see him hurting mommy?"

She nodded.

"He put his winky inside her. She screamed. He hit her too. She was scared of him."

"Were you scared?"

"I still am scared of the bad man."

"Why?"

"Because...he hurt me too."

"Well, now that he's gone, you're safe. You know that, right?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell me...because we're friends...what he did?"

"He..he...made me play games. They hurt me."

"What kind of games?"

"The things he'd do to mommy, he'd do to me."

"He...put his..'winky' inside you?"

She nodded. Cindy knew she had to do something for this little girl. This case was different, and she knew it; mommy and daddy were both supernatural beings. Cindy knew, because she was also of supernatural decent.

"Anne, because you are, now, my best friend, Im gonna do something for you. Im going to show you somethings that might scare you, that may even make you cry, but you'll feel better when you see it. Would you like to receive the gift?"

Anne thought for a moment then smiled and nodded.

-+-+-+-+-+

Anne left the room with the doctor shortly after. Buffy stood from her seat and put down the magazine she was reading. Once Anne spotted her, she ran to her, wrapping her arms around her waist. Buffy bent down and picked her up, hugging her wholeheartedly.

"Mama, I missed you!"

"Oh, I missed you too, princess. Did you have a good time?"

"Yes. Cindy is my friend now."

"Really? Well, that's great."

Smiling to the doctor, Buffy exited with her, already paying previously. Once they were out on the street, Buffy put Anne down as she fished in her purse for her car keys. Anne held on tightly to the object Cindy had given her, but it had slipped from her grip and rolled into the middle of the street.

"Oh, no!"

She cried, running to go retrieve _it. _When Buffy found the keys, she looked to see Anne wasn't next to the car anymore.

"Anne?"

She looked around, and watched as she ran into oncoming traffic.

"Anne!"

-+-+-+-+-+

Angel ran through the hospital halls, looking for any sign of Buffy or Anne. Finally finding a nurse, he was steered in the right direction and led to them both. When he had finally found Buffy she was pacing the waiting room, crying and shaking uncontrollably. Once her eyes darted over to see him, she was in his arms faster then he could blink.

He led her over to the chairs and sat with her; she was sobbing onto his chest. He shushed her, trying to soothe her so she would tell him what happened. When she finally calmed down, he finally decided to speak.

"Baby, what happened?"

"Anne..she-she wasn't next to the...car and when I l-looked she was in...the middle...of the street...and then a car hit her."

"Did any of the doctors tell you anything?"

"No, and they wont let me see her. Angel, Im scared."

"I know, but there's nothing to be scared about. She's going to be fine. She _is _your daughter isn't she?"

He cracked a small smile that he tried to hide his fear with, but it didn't work quite well. Before Buffy could respond, the doctor walked out from Anne's room, approaching them.

"Miss Summers?"

He called, looking down at her in Angels arms. She looked up and sat up, alert now. Both she and Angel waited for the news, but by the look on the doctors face, they knew it couldn't be all that good.

"The impact knocked her around, bruising her, but not breaking anything. But..the hit wasn't that much of a light tap. She's in a coma, and we fear...she wont wake up."


	14. Weight of the World

Buffy's heart exploded at the news of her daughters condition. In a coma? How..why...oh god. Numbly, she let go of Angel and stood, walking past the doctor and heading into Anne's room. She needed to speak to her. She needed to tell her how much she loved her.

Walking in her daughters room as silently as she could, she closed the door behind herself and walked over to her bedside, wanting to be with her no matter what. She sat down in the chair next to her bed, and took her small hand in hers. It felt like Angels–the way it used to be; cold.

"Hey, baby," she whispered.

She was so upset about seeing Anne in a hospital bed, in a coma, bruised, that she didn't know what to say. At all.

"Its me; mommy. I just want you to know, I love you. I love you so much. I wish you were awake, and okay, laughing and playing. So..for now, you just have to promise me, you'll get better. But, I know you'll get better, so I don't have to worry, right?"

Buffy kissed Anne's hand, and just sat there staring at her. Angel walked in and almost burst into tears at the scene of his daughter laying helpless in a hospital bed. Sighing, he sat on the opposite side of her bed, holding her other hand.

Then he felt something vibrate in his pocket.

He looked down and took whatever it was out. His cell phone. He answered it, and Buffy saw from his eyes, that there was no good news to be heard. When he hung up after saying almost nothing, he stood and smashed a pitcher of water that was next to Anne's bed against a wall. Buffy lifted her eyes from staring at Anne, to Angel, who was obviously in a lot of pain.

"Doyle. Daniel is..he's not breathing anymore."

Buffy screamed.

-+-+-+-+-+

**Four Months later**

They all stood at the grave of their beloved baby. Buffy knelt down and placed fresh flowers upon his grave, while Angel held Anne as they both looked on.

Doyle had went to the bathroom, and when he returned, Daniel hadn't been breathing. He tried CPR on him, but it didn't work, and he called an ambulance. When they finally got to him, they did all they could, but he was already gone. He had choked on a piece of fabric from an stuffed toy of some sort. Buffy figured it was his damn stuffed dog. She wanted to burn it, but then realized, it was his favorite, so she kept it.

It was nobody's fault. She just told herself that. After a month of being in a coma, Anne woke up, confused and in a lot of pain. When she found out about her brothers death, everything was wrong. Nothing was right anymore. But they all helped each other and the pain was dulled, but sure as hell not forgotten.

Anne didn't know how to make her mother and father not cry anymore. That's all they did, was cry. They didn't ignore her, they helped her with everything they were all going through, it was just that much harder when they couldn't stop and hold back their tears. Cordelia and Doyle were over most of the time to watch over her, so Buffy and Angel could deal, but it just made Anne lonely.

Then one day, while sitting quietly and playing with Piggy and Mr Gordo, she looked down at her hand, seeing a mark–with the same design as the _it _Cindy gave her. She stared at it for a moment, and before she knew it, she was no longer in her room, with Piggy and Mr Gordo. She was in a big, white place. And Cindy was there!

"Anne. You made it."

"Where am I?"

"Where you want to be."

"Where I wanna be, is where I am. Home."

"No, no. Remember? I told you, my gift would let you see things that you need to see. Then you'll find your destiny."

"But.."

Anne was then blinded by a bright white light and when she opened her eyes again, she was back in Sunnydale. She heard yelling in the kitchen, so she turned and saw her mother, grandmother and Riley fighting. Anne began crying, seeing that she was right about Riley still being alive, but Cindy came up behind her.

"Don't cry Anne. This is what might have happened. They cant see you, and he cant hurt you."

"What might have happened?"

"Yes. Watch."

Anne continued to watch as the three argued. But what Anne noticed was that there was no sign of her there. Where was she?

"Why..."

"Shh..just look."

As she was screaming, Buffy put her hand on her stomach and it looked as if she was digging her heels firmly into the ground, because she just wasn't agreeing with what they were saying, then Buffy stormed out and Anne was transported away again.

They were in the cemetery, and Buffy was being attacked by, maybe a dozen pointy teeth men; vampires. Spike was there, trying to help, but then, in her pregnant state, she was overpowered and attacked; tackled to the ground. The lead vamp bit into her neck and drained her before Spike could save her.

Anne's heart hurt at what she saw. She literally had to put her hand to her chest to try and dull the pain. It hurt too much.

"Mama..."

She whispered, then they were gone again. They appeared in what seemed to be the future. Both Buffy and Angel looked older, and then there was an older boy with them. It was Daniel!

"Dan-Dan!"

She cried happily, and ran to him, trying to hug him, but found she couldn't. But, again, where was she? Looking around, it was obvious that they were in the Hyperion, but there was one picture, it was huge, of two children. It was her and her baby brother. But then there were other picture of the baby boy growing, and eventually turning into a man, who looked like his father.

She was beginning to understand.

Anne looked back at Cindy and all she did was nodded. She realized her destiny, her reason for being, her gift.

"Im ready now, Cindy."

"I guess my job is done. The PTB is sorry they had to do it this way. And...you were the miracle. The chosen one."

Anne smiled and nodded, seeming to act maybe ten years older then she actually was.

"I know. And just like my mother, I have a gift."

"What's your gift, Anne?"

**The next chapter is the last, which means its going to be shorter then this one. It's the finale! And its not going to have a happy ending so, be prepared. **


	15. Princess A, The World Is Yours

Anne smiled, thinking back on everything that ever happened.

"My gift is..."

-+-+-+-+-+

Anne's heart monitor began to slow, then it just let out the most gut wrenching droning sound Buffy ever heard. She knew what that meant, but refused to believe it. Clutching Anne's hand in her own, she cried as she felt the life drain out of her. The doctors rushed in, prepared to bring Anne back to life and get her heart started up again. A few of the nurses had to come in and drag Buffy away.

Angel didn't even get a chance to see her once more.

Buffy refused to be removed, but reluctantly let go, knowing they had to _try_ and help her. But Buffy was in denial. She knew Anne would wake up. She was just playing a game. The doctors didn't know what they were doing, Anne was fine.

Well, if Anne was fine, why was Buffy crying and why was Anne unmoving, blue, and ice cold to the touch?

Anne...was...just...playing...a game.

-+-+-+-+-+

Anne Elizabeth Summers-O'Connor was pronounced dead 9:49 pm, on October 17, 2007. Once that came from the doctors mouth, everything else happened so quickly. Everyone was asking her questions, which she let Angel answer, who was holding up better then she was, considering.

Buffy went back into Anne's room; she needed to see her again. When she walked in, she noticed she was holding something. It looked like paper. Walking over to her daughters bedside, she, carefully slipped the small paper from her daughters frigid hand. Crying when she could have sworn she saw Anne's eyes twitch, she opened the slip of paper and read the contents.

"Mommy,

Im sorry I had to leave you, but, Im in a better place, now. You were here, they remember you. They said you, daddy, and everyone else has a spot right next to me. Mama, its so pretty here, and guess what; Riley cant hurt us here. He's not allowed in. But, I guess the Powers that Be are breaking lots of rules by letting me talk to you. I had a gift, mommy. My gift was redemption. Redemption and death, just like you. I just wanted to tell you, mommy that I love you. I love you, daddy, Dan-Dan, and everyone else, and I want you to tell them all for me. And also...I've got it all figured out, so Im okay. Im okay, and I'll be waiting for you. Take care of Piggy and Mr Gordo for me.

I love you,

Anne."

Buffy was sobbing uncontrollably when she finally finished reading the letter. It wasn't fair. Anne wasn't supposed to die before the age of ninety. It just wasn't fair.

-+-+-+-+-+

Buffy knelt down in front of the new grave. It was her turn. Everyone saw the grave but her. She wanted alone time with her baby, she didn't want everyone hovering over her. She traced the words with her index finger, smiling slightly at the words engraved on the little girls headstone.

Anne Elizabeth Summers-O'Connor

August 24 2000

October 17 2007

The little girl who was a miracle,

is now an angel.

"Princess," she sobbed softly. "I..I never thought I'd be doing this. I always thought you'd live to be, at least, one hundred," she laughed halfheartedly. "I didn't want you to have to same destiny as me. The same outcome; death. You were supposed to live, and live long. I don't know why the Powers that Be gave you to me just to take you away. That isn't fair either, and I hope they expect to see me so they can get a piece of my mind," she growled out softly, but then her voice softened. "I told everyone that you loved them. I guess you already know how they feel about you. Daddy came to see you earlier, with Daniel. Last night I had a dream about you, and now I understand too. I know you died for Daniel. You died for us all," the tears began streaming down her face again. "I just wish I could have you back. I would die for you if I could, but...I guess they didn't want me to do the same thing again. Before I go, I just want you to know that Piggy and Mr Gordo are being taken care of, and they'll be safe with me," she sighed and looked down again.

"I just wish you were safe with me."

**The End. **

_**Okay, yes, I know, previously I had said that Anne was going on six, but in reality, she'd be seven. Sorry for the mix up, but Im too lazy to go back and fix it. **_

_**But, maybe if Im up to it, I'll take the ending to this to another level in another story. I dunno yet. After killing her off, I kinda wanna bring Anne back. What do you guys think? **_


End file.
